Dark Tower: Sidequest
by Blacklark57
Summary: This is a story about an entirely new set of characters journeying through Mid-World. It will be told in seven parts, each of varying length, and parts 2-7 broken down further into chapters. I'm hoping to release a chapter a week, with a one month break between parts. Part two will be out September 1.
1. Part 1: The Broken Village

Dark Tower: Side quest  
Part 1: The Broken Village

The gunslinger fled across the desert, and the man in red followed. Despite every trick he knew, every trap he laid, every trail he cut through bramble or dried riverbed, the gunslinger could not seem to lose his crimson shadow. It had been months ago, when he left the icy mountains, that the figure first appeared in the distance behind him. Initially the gunslinger had ignored the stranger, assuming it to be another refugee fleeing the chaos of war, but as the days wore on and the red man continued to dog him, the gunslinger realized that their similar journeys were no mere coincidence.

While his pursuer had remained far enough behind that the gunslinger could make out no details of his face or form, he was not about to lay in wait for the red phantom to draw close enough to hail and challenge. He had no proof, but he well suspected the figure's identity: a soldier, dispatched from the Good Man's army to hunt down any survivors from Jericho Hill. For this reason, among many, the gunslinger kept his distance.

Now rolling plains had given way to hills of sand and dust. Each footstep became a strenuous effort, each breath drawn into his ragged lungs like inhaling fire. His food had run out several days ago, and a mere trickle of his water remained. Even if the man in red kept his distance, the gunslinger knew his time on this mortal coil was growing short. Soon it would come down to a simple choice: a quick death, or a slow one.

Ahead of him, sharp slopes cut a line across the horizon. The gunslinger paused to shield his eyes from the sun, and saw a cliff line that stretched across the line of sand, blocking his path as far as he could see. He let loose a low moan, which the whirling wind snatched up and carried away to be lost amid the sands. It appeared that, like everything else, even his choice of death had been taken from him.

Then, something caught his eye. To one side down the scant track he had been following all day, he saw a dab of darkness on the cliff line, a tiny break almost invisible at this distance. It was likely nothing more than a shallow inlet, but he had no other choice save laying down and waiting for death. He clung to this new hope with a sudden desperation, surprised to discover that he still wished to live, even after everything that had come to pass. Down a dune he slid, almost falling on his face as he reached the bottom, and began moving at a faster clip than he had in days.

The cliffs remained in the distance, refusing to draw closer no matter how fast he pushed. The gunslinger glanced behind him, and saw the red robed figure standing on the dune he had occupied only moments ago. The man stared in the gunslinger's direction, and then began to descend the dune with slow and careful steps.

At last the gunslinger reached the dark nook, and he staggered into its shade with a welcome sigh of relief. Beyond, a tight passageway twisted away into the distance, though from here he could not tell whether it went all the way through or came to a dead end beyond his line of sight. Still, it was either forge ahead or make his last stand, so after pausing only a moment to catch his breath the gunslinger continued on through the canyon.

Overhead, light filtered through in dim patches to the passageway floor. In some places large boulders hung across the top of the gap, leaving the space below in shadow. The gunslinger wound his way forward, and while the passage did not narrow, it did not widen either, continuing to cut a jagged path through the hillside. In the darker corners moss and ferns grew, and once he startled some colorful bird from a nest bored into the rock. It emitted a piercing shriek as it soared away, and the sound bounced along the walls until it became lost in the distance. The cry left him with a cold feeling knotted in his stomach, rolling and thrashing like a snake in a bag.

The gunslinger stopped for a moment and looked back. Through the thin gap of visible passage he could see that everything remained still and quiet. Then, a brief flash of red appeared and was gone, so quick that had he not been watching for it he would have thought it no more than a trick of the light. His pursuer drew closer by the moment, and even if the canyon did not end soon he would be upon the gunslinger.

Now the walls began to blur as the gunslinger traveled faster, his weary legs finding a strength and energy they had not possessed in days. His pack was all but empty, and slapped at his back with each step. His guns in their worn leather holsters seemed to chafe at him with every twist of his hips. It may have been no more than a trick of his mind, but he heard his pursuer behind him now, a steady tap of footfalls that echoed through the passageway. It buzzed inside the gunslinger's ears, drowning out his own rapid steps and the labored sounds of his lungs sucking at the dry desert air.

At last he pushed himself to his body's limit. The canyon widened by a hair's breadth, and here the gunslinger came to a halt. He turned, and there behind him stood the man in red. His face was clean shaven and his skin was pale as the moon. Fiery red hair ran short along the sides of his head but fell down his back almost to his waist. His eyes had a dangerous gleam in them, a hunter staring down its prey, and there was just the barest hint of a smirk upon his face.

"Well, at last we meet face to face. You and I have much to talk about, yes, much indeed I think," the man took a step forward, then paused as the gunslinger drew his weapon. He did not look at the pistol, but a single eyebrow drew up his brow and the smirk became an open smile, showing a mouth of perfect white teeth. "Come now, put down your weapon. Do you think such an ancient relic as that is any threat to someone like me?"

"Fortunately, it's not for you," the gunslinger pointed the pistol at the sky and fired a single shot. The man in red's brows drew together in curiosity, then shot upward as his eyes went wide. He threw himself back the way he had come as a cascade of boulders tumbled down into the tunnel below.

The gunslinger stepped back and watched as stone after stone poured into the passageway. When at last the rumbling faded and the canyon stilled once again, rock had filled the tunnel preventing either side from reaching the other. It would take several strong men a full day at least to clear the obstruction, and for the man in red by himself several more besides. Satisfied that he had lost his pursuer at last, the gunslinger turned and marched down the darkening canyon, a swing in his weary steps for the first time in weeks.

* * *

Much to his relief, several hours later the gunslinger exited the passage through the cliffs. He found himself back in forest once again, although the trees here grew so weak and shriveled it was almost an insult to compare it to the wild lands of his boyhood home. A few creatures skittered in the gloom beneath their branches, although whether they walked on four legs, six legs, or more he could not tell. His hunger gnawed at his stomach and clawed at his mind, but finding water was more urgent now than food. He neither heard the sound of babbling brook nor saw the rippling shine of a pond, so he squared his shoulders and continued along, looking for salvation.

He found it just as the sun slid over the horizon, the last glow like an angry red boil upon the surface of the earth. It was neither lake nor stream, but rather a village clinging to a squat hillside, with the forest fighting to reclaim the territory on all sides. Even the term village gave the place too much honor, a dozen houses, and only two of them with more than a single story. Yet as the gunslinger paused at the outskirts he saw more buildings among the trees, half fallen to rubble and covered with moss and ivy. The town might once have been grand until hard times found it, but hard times had found everywhere in the world, after all. He supposed that this place should be no exception.

The streets were empty, and for a moment he feared the town had been abandoned after all, that there would be nothing left in the buildings but rot and dust. But then a light appeared in the Eastern of the two largest buildings, followed by its twin at the Western end. One by one a dozen or more lamps were lit between the two, although the other buildings remained dark. Numerous shapes moved among the pins of light, and the pair of buildings seemed to writhe with sudden activity.

In the street in front of him, the gunslinger saw two shapes emerge from the darkness. His hand went to his firearm, but neither of the shadows appeared interested in the newcomer. They were a pair of grizzled men in stained overalls, and no sooner had they met in the middle of the dirt road than they began to raise their voices in anger, hands waving to emphasize their opinions.

It had grown too dark to make out many details, but the gunslinger overhead one of the men exclaim, "Ye best cry pardon, ye filthy whoreson!" The other man moved forward, and his fist struck bone and flesh with a wet thud. The first man staggered back a moment, then lunged forward into the other. A loud cry filled the street and the second man collapsed, his opponent fleeing into the dark.

The gunslinger rushed to the fallen man's side, and found him lying face down in an expanding pool of his own blood. A quick touch told him that the other would never rise again, but before he could decide what to do next a new figure approached out of the dusk. He cackled when he saw the fallen worker, and rolled him over with the tip of his boot.

"Aye, that be Jameson, and finally got what was coming to him, you set your watch and warrant," he looked up at the gunslinger, and squinted at him in the dim light, "never seen your face before, stranger. Which house you come a calling to? I don't choose sides here, but it's plain to anyone with eyes that Dela Corp is gaining the advantage. You'd best think about that, heh?"

The gunslinger spoke with a slow carefulness, his throat out of practice and parched from lack of water. "I'll take that under consideration. And who are you, to be so casual in the face of the dead?"

"Names Biggins, and as for the dead, why that's me business. Official undertaker I am, and it's the last honest work to be found in this hole of a town, you can be certain of that. Well, if you excuse me, I've got a lovely box I need to go acquaint our associate with." He nudged the corpse with his boot again, and then turned and disappeared into the dark.

Across the street, a light came on in the window of one of the smaller buildings. It illuminated a shingle out front with a picture of a billy-bumbler next to a bowl of soup. The gunslinger wasn't sure about the first symbol, but the second was clear enough. Skirting around the dead man, he made his way over to the door and knocked with as much force as he could manage. His hands had begun to shake with the thought of a drink, and even if it was water from a poisoned well he would welcome it at this moment, if only to bring an end to the sand coating his aching throat.

The door opened, and he stared into the face of a young woman, brown hair tumbling down her back in an unkempt mess, her face cracked and scarred from some great tragedy. She stepped aside, and he passed over the threshold, just managing to reach a wooden bench before his legs gave out.

"Water," he croaked, "or beer if you have any. Food too, doesn't matter how many legs it walked on, I'll eat it without complaint."

He waved his hand in what he thought would be the direction of the kitchen, but the girl came over and stood by him, palm open before his face. "Payment first, then we'll see about some food and drink. Don't think about starting any trouble in here tonight either. If you haven't heard from the other men yet, this is neutral ground, and I'll not have anyone breaking my furniture in here because they didn't learn the rules."

The gunslinger reached into his pack, and drew out a pair of silver coins. The girl eyed them as he placed them in her hand, then looked back at him a moment, eyes narrowed. Satisfied at last, the coins disappeared into her apron and the girl stepped through a set of double doors, returning a moment later with a mug and a bowl. The mug did in fact contain beer, though it was the weakest the gunslinger had tasted in his lifetime, and if it hadn't had a solid head of foam he would have thought it murky water instead. Still, he gulped it down with an aching sense of relief, his throat at last returning to a sense of normality.

The girl stood there, hand planted on her hips. When he had drained the draught she replaced it with another, then took a seat across from him. She watched as he dug into the soup with almost as much relish as he had the beer, finding it to contain a mix of spiced vegetables, though little if any meat.

"So, which house have you declared for then?" The girl asked, startling him from his concentration over the well earned meal.

"You're the second person to ask me that tonight. What exactly does it mean?"

"You don't know?"

He shook his head, "I only just walked into town, and before that I didn't even know this place existed."

"Oh," the girl seemed taken aback, and paused a moment before she said, "this here town of Charity Hill, it's located by a near endless vein of iron. There are two companies that both lay claim to the vein and the surrounding area: the Dela Corporation and the Johnson Family. They've been fighting each other over control of it for years now, and things just keep getting worse and worse. Now both sides employ more soldiers than they do miners, and everyone else in this town that didn't pick a side is either dead or gone. Everyone except me and my pa, that is, and Mr. Biggins the undertaker. Used to be a right nice place when I was little, but lately even I've been wondering if I shouldn't just take my chances on the road."

She lapsed into silence, and the gunslinger mulled over her words. After a few minutes passed he noticed the girl looking at him, and he met her eyes with a steady gaze. She held his look for a moment, and then her eyes darted down to the pistols around his waist. "You certainly aren't the usual sort of stranger we have in these parts. What do folks call you anyway?"

He started to tell her a lie, as he had so many times already on the long road away from Gilead, but he would gain nothing by it, so instead he said, "my name is Steven Talmane, son of Joseph, of the line of Eld."

The girl raised an eyebrow, "my my, that's quite the fancy name. It mean anything special?"

"No, not any more at least. I'm named after my uncle, leader of the Federation and a warrior of the white, but my family was far removed from both castle and court. We were a minor offshoot, a branch not even remembered until the call to arms came. After that call…well, I'm all that's left of a once proud line, just a traveler forgotten by the world and nothing more."

"Well, can't say I've ever heard of any Eld, or Federation for that matter," the girl grunted, and then shrugged, "you can call me Betany, and should my pa ever grace us with his presence his name is Loter, though most everyone still left in this town calls him Loiter, on account of him never leaving the house anymore. Ah, here he is up and about, praise the man Jesus!"

A shaggy bear of a man came through the double doors, his hair a mixture of brown and gray. He eyed Steven for a moment, then shuffled off and took a seat next to the fireplace. Betany turned back and shrugged again. "Don't mind him, he don't talk much since my ma passed. Still knows how to chop vegetables and brew up a good beer, so you won't hear me complaining!" She looked at the gunslinger and seemed to contemplate something for a moment. "Well, if you're not siding with any of the houses, you'll need a place to sleep tonight. Go ahead and use the building across the street, that's old Hilde's place, she's been dead little over a year, so shouldn't be too much dust or vermin. You come back in the morning, and I'll fix you up something for the road, that satisfy?"

Steven nodded, and set down his spoon. A good night's rest would give him the strength to put his next plan into motion.

* * *

The next morning Steven found a bench within sight of the two mining offices and sat down to watch. While he waited he disassembled his pistols, the first real cleaning they had seen since the red man began following him. He wiped out every trace of grit and oiled each part until they moved smooth and quiet once again. Reassembly complete, he reviewed his inventory of remaining supplies, a task that took far less time than he would have liked. There was only a little oil left, but that would not matter soon anyway; in total he counted nineteen rounds of ammo left between his two guns. He would not likely meet anyone with the knowledge or skill to make more either, now that he had left Gilead so far behind him. Still, he had enough faith left to believe that everything was according to Ka, and if he wasn't cursed beyond salvation then it would provide for him somehow.

As he sat there working, men began to stream out of the two buildings. The men from the Johnson Family house were first, about a dozen miners and half again as many guards, though there was little to separate them in appearance and demeanor from those carrying pickaxes. None looked like they had any real weapons, just a few rusted axes and clubs, and they wore clothes that were little better than simple homespun.

After the first group had moved down the hill a similar contingent exited from the Dela headquarters. There some twenty guards in this group, but they were a bit better armed than those from Johnson, and their weapons glinted in the light from recent cleaning. He watched as they reached the bottom of the hill and set off into the woods, following a trail that sloped downward into a gully rather than the path taken by the first group. Steven nodded in satisfaction. They appeared to be heading in different directions. It might be that the two groups had a truce, however tenuous.

He stood and studied the two headquarters. There were a few signs of movement inside, but both buildings had an empty feeling to them now, as if their walls had pulled inward from the sudden flow of people, their walls sagging like loose rolls of skin. He looked at each in turn, and settled on the Dela headquarters.

A pair of armed men stood by the doorway, and another patrolled on the roof. The two down below eyed him as he approached, but it was the man above who called out, "what ye want stranger?"

Steven hooked his thumbs into his pockets and eyed the man with a casual glance. "I hear you're looking for good men to serve as bodyguards."

"Aye, and well met then. I'll get Kilpatrick, he's the man you want to speak to."

Kilpatrick turned out to be a thin, balding man in a green jacket so old it was almost threadbare. He looked Stephen over, his eyes lingering for several moment on the guns at the gunslinger's sides. He looked up, and Steven could see a hungry look in his eyes, "well, you look a tad more capable than the usual sort. What's your name?"

Over the man's shoulder, Steven saw an archery range, the equipment piled into a corner out of the sun and rain. "I'm known by many titles. You can call me Bo Striker."

"Fair name, sure to strike fear in the hearts of those Johnson boys." Kilpatrick smiled at his joke and pulled a bag of coins from a pocket. He tossed them into the air with a practiced swing. Steven snatched them up and gave them an appraising squeeze. "Call that a sign on bonus. You'll get another like it each week. Well, you want to come in to rest a spell, or you ready to be put to work?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Truth be told, you couldn't have shown up at a better time. Word just came back that the Johnson Family are working one of our claims today, the East Warwick Mine. I was just about to round up some of our men to go run 'em out, but with your firepower we might be able to do a bit more than that." Kilpatrick turned and yelled up to the man on the roof, "Tern, how many men we got available?"

"Eight, including myself. Nine with our new friend here. You think that's enough though? I saw them boys had twice that in guards this morning."

Kilpatrick waved a hand in the air, "never you mind that, with a little extra firepower and the element of surprise I think you'll be just fine." He looked over at Steven and raised an eyebrow, "assuming you're up to the challenge."  
"I've seen worse odds. Have your men meet me down here when they're ready."

* * *

"There she be, the East Warwick," Tern had a distinct note of pride in his voice, "she's one of our newest, and there's a real sweet vein twixt her lips, but those Johnson boys just keep sneaking in when our backs are turned. They're just jealous, the last two mines they dug turned sour on 'em, so they keep trying to take what ain't theirs."

Steven surveyed the site. Dela Corp had carved the mine out at the bottom of a dry gully. Whatever trees and plants had eked out an existence there before were long uprooted, and the space surrounding the entrance was little more than gray dust and piles of broken stone. He frowned back at Tern, "Why did you dig this mine if you didn't have the men to work it?"

"Had more men back before all the trouble started. Some left, others got themselves killed," Tern shrugged, "there's always more men flocking into town looking for work, but it never seems to be enough."

"What do you want to do about those two?" Steven motioned towards the pair of armed men standing outside the entrance. There was little in the way of cover between them and where he and Tern stood hidden among the trees.

"Shoot, isn't that what we hired you for?" Tern grinned, "you take them out and then we'll charge in there before Johnson knows what hit 'em."

Steven shook his head, "if I start shooting now, everyone inside that cave is going to be on high alert. We need to take them out without giving them a chance to call a warning."

"Well, if you got any bright ideas, I'd love to hear 'em"

"One or two. Just get the men ready, you'll know when to charge." Steven stood and strode out of the woods, ignoring the cry that Tern managed to choke off at the last second. He walked towards the guards, affecting an air of innocence.

The two men looked up and watched as the gunslinger approached, but neither cried out. When he was a few feet away, one of the men held up a hand and said, "that's close enough stranger."

"Long days and pleasant nights gentlemen," Steven held up his hands, palms outward. "I'm hoping you might be able to point me towards the nearest town. I seem to be a mite lost."

"What kind of trick you trying to pull here?" The shorter of the two guards asked him.

"Trick? What would be the purpose of that? Gentlemen, I'm tired and hungry, and if you can just help me I'll be on my way."

"How do we know you ain't some bandit?" The shorter man asked again.

Steven narrowed his eyes and stared the man down. "If I was a bandit, I would have simply shot you two before I even entered the clearing."

The taller guard waved a hand, "alright, we take your point. If you head West of here you should come to a trail, follow that past the old boneyard and you should see the town soon enough."

"Boneyard? That doesn't sound right at all," the gunslinger produced a scrap of dried animal skin from his pocket, "see here, the map that trapper drew for me doesn't show anything of the sort."

The two guards stepped forward and stood to either side of him. "Why, there's nothing here-" one of them managed to get out before Steven dropped the hide. He grabbed each man by the nape of his hair, and slammed the two heads together. Both men dropped like stones to the ground.

"Hooey!" Came echoing from the forest. Tern and the other men emerged from the tree line. "Well, if that wasn't the best show I've seen since the traveling man last passed through, I don't know what's what. You really are more than just talk, ain't you Bo?" He approached Steven and knelt down by the fallen men. A knife appeared in his hands, but Tern froze at the gunslinger's touch on his shoulder. He looked up with a frown.

"There's no need for that," Steven said, "Kilpatrick said to chase them off, not kill them." For a second he thought the other man would challenge his decision, but Tern just stood and shrugged, knife already returned to its hiding place. His gaze did linger for a moment on the gunslinger though, an unreadable look in his eyes.

The men began to move into the darkness of the mine, lanterns spread out among them bobbing into the gloom, some of them already disappearing around a bend. The gunslinger held back until only he and Tern were left.

"What's the matter, afraid of the dark?" Tern asked with a sneer. From inside they could hear shouts and the scuffling of men in cramped quarters. "Best hurry on in, we're losing the element of surprise. We need those guns of yours to even the odds."

"Yes, about that. I'm afraid there's been a change of plans." Steven's fist shot out and punched Tern square in the stomach. The man doubled over, and the gunslinger stuck him on the back of the head. Tern crumpled to the ground in a tangled heap, and lay there quivering. The gunslinger looked down at him, face a blank mask. "I'm afraid I'll be switching sides now."

He strolled out the cave, and the sounds of fighting faded away, stolen by the thick stone walls that surrounded the men beneath the earth.

* * *

Steven walked up to the Johnson Family headquarters, the sun high overhead and beating down on him with a relentless fury. A pair of guards, twins to the ones he had dispatched in front of the mine, watched his approach, sweat a sparkling sheen on their foreheads. He stopped outside of their weapon reach and regarded them with a flat expression.

"Fetch whoever is in charge," he told them, "I have some news I think he'll want to hear."

The head of the Johnson family was a man almost a head taller than Steven, broad shouldered and with arms that looked like they saw their fair share of hard labor. He wore a broad brimmed hat with a silver star set above the band, but otherwise his clothes were no better than those of his men. "What's this about news stranger? You the man we've seen skulking around that cursed Dela building all morning?"

"I am. I come recently from a term of employment with Dela Corp."

"Is that so," the other man made a quick motion with his hand, and several more men appeared out of thin air, weapons held at the ready.

"It was a very short term, one which I've already left. It seems that Dela thought they could make better use of my guns than the man who wields them. I had to dissuade them of that, and now I'm looking for a new employer, someone who wouldn't make such a foolish mistake. Might you be such a man?"

"Well, I reckon I might. Name's Clem Johnson, head of this fine family. Who might you be stranger?"

"If names are required, Bo will do."

"Alright Bo. I promise me and my own won't try to take what's yours, but how do I know you're worth hiring? Those relics you're carrying could be nothing but rust on the inside."

Steven's muscles flexed, and one of the pistols appeared in his hand. Before any of the men had a chance to shout, he fired a shot straight at Clem. The hat flew off into the courtyard dust, and the leader of the Johnson family collapsed next to it. He sat there a moment, stunned, and then his face grew red.

"What in the name of the man Jesus was the meaning of that?" He patted himself down, and finding not a single bullet hole anywhere rose to his feet. "I don't know if I should be grateful or angry over that piss-poor shot, but either way I don't want anything to do with a madman!"

The gunslinger holstered his weapon. "If you would please do me the kindness of inspecting your headgear?"

Clem frowned, but reached down and picked up his hat. He stared at it for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Well, if that don't beat all," he held it out for his men to see. A perfect circle had been bored through the center of the star. "Alright, I suppose that proves the worth of both your guns and yourself. Come on inside and we'll find you some quarters."

"Actually, I have a house in town I'm occupying already, I'll be staying there for the immediate future."

"What if we need you in a hurry?"

"If you need me, I imagine I'll know. Also, there is the small matter of payment for services rendered."

"Services rendered?" Clem held his side and let loose another laugh. "I suppose we can provide a bit of a signing bonus, but what services exactly have you rendered for us?"

"I managed to prevent an attack from wiping out your men today."

Clem's eyes narrowed. "Explain."

Steven gave a brief account of the events at East Warwick. By the end, Clem's face wore a broad smile once again. "Oh, sounds like you trounced Mason and Raol. They aren't going to be happy, that's for certain. With luck it all worked out in the end, but we'll wait and see what the men have to say when they return. If most of them are still alive I'll vouch for you, but otherwise things may turn ugly around here."

"They outnumbered Dela more than two to one, never mind the miners themselves, I'm sure it went just fine for them."

"I hope you're right. Well, come on inside. Once the men get back and we hear their side of the story, if everything can be smoothed over I'll have something a little nicer than our standard signing bonus for you." Clem stood aside, and the gunslinger strode into the headquarters. "In the meantime, let's see about having a drink. All the fighting skill in the world won't save you if you die of thirst."

* * *

Steven walked into the Hungry Bumbler, feeling like a much different man than the one who had arrived at its doors just a day earlier. His pockets were weighed down with coins, and his stomach filled with the food and drink that Clem had plied upon him. The hospitality had only increased after the men returned. While the gunslinger would have liked nothing better than to stay here longer, the threat of the man in red grew in his mind with every passing hour.

There were five men from Dela Corp drinking together in one corner, and at his entrance they turned as one and stared at him with open hostility. Two of them were from this morning's ambush, although any recognition on Steven's part was owing more to the severe bruises on their face than any memory of names. None of the men made any move in his direction, so Betany's neutral ground must have outweighed their desire for revenge.

As if responding to his thought, the girl appeared at the doorway, arms laden with plates and cups. She set them on the table and the men broke their attention away from Stephen. Betany herself turned towards him, a half-smile on her lips. "Well, if I had known what a stir you were going to cause around here when you first arrived, I might have charged you more for the trouble!"

"You've had problems on account of me?"

"Well no, not directly, but if this little village weren't coming to pieces before, it certainly is more on its way now. You here for a meal then?"

"No, I've had my fill already today. I was actually hoping to speak with you about another matter," Steven glanced at the men behind her, "privately, if possible."

"Oh, alright then. Let's step outside, should be quiet enough." Betany led him through the kitchen and out a back door. From there they walked to a copse of trees at the base of the hill. After a moment, the girl looked over at him and asked, "so what's all this about then?"

"Do you perhaps have any horses you would be willing to sell? Or know of someone who does?"

"Horses you say?" Betany tapped her lips with a finger and looked off into the gathering darkness. "Most of the horses to be found within a day's travel are all owned by the companies, but I know a farmer on the outskirts who still has a few. Before I go getting us both into trouble though, can I ask what for? You're not thinking of running now, are you?"

"I aim to be far away from this town after tomorrow, no thinking about it."

Betany let out a low whistle. "Well, I'm afraid I can't help you then, won't be part to a man getting himself killed. You try and leave now, you'll have both companies out for your blood, and no amount of horseflesh will get you away from them fast enough."

"Concerning that matter, I have a plan. If it works, they'll too busy with each other to worry about me until I'm well beyond catching."

"Really now? Do tell."

"Sorry, but the less you know the better."

"If you want any help with getting horses, I think you'd best answer my questions. Besides, your secret is safe enough. I'm the last person to go running to the…" she trailed off and cocked her head. "Did you hear that?"

A branch snapped behind them, and Steven whirled around. One of the bruise-faced guards from the tavern stood there. A flash of moonlight reflected off something in the man's hands. In the time it took him to blink, the gunslinger drew his weapons.

"Imar, what do you think you are doing?" Betany's voice was thick with anger, but she took a step away from the gunslinger.

"You go on home now Betany, this is between me and that traitor there." Imar took a step forward. Steven lifted his guns and pointed them at the man's head.

"That's far enough now. I'm sorry you suffered on my actions, but it was nothing personal, just a bit of bad business between your company and mine."

Imar spat into the dirt. "Don't care about no 'bruises' you filthy cur! My brother was with me today, got himself split in half by one of those miners. He was only here because he didn't want to be home on the farm without me, and now he's dead. Somebody's gotta pay for that."

The man moved closer, and Steven thrust his guns forward. His hands had begun to shake, and he prayed that it wasn't visible in the semi-darkness. "Not another step, or I'll shoot!"

"Go ahead, but you better not miss, because otherwise I'm gonna carve you up and wear your insides like a hat!" Imar lunged forward. Steven dropped his guns and threw up his arms to protect himself. He huddled there for a moment, and then when he realized he hadn't been struck, opened his eyes. The other man stood in front of him, eyes wide and ghostly white in the darkness. Then he slumped to his knees and fell face first into the dirt. Betany stood behind him.

"Well, this night certainly has taken an interesting turn," she bent over and retrieved her dagger, then looked up at Steven, "so what happened, guns just for show after all?"

He collected his weapons and holstered them with a gesture so often practiced it had become automatic. All the energy that he had regained in the last day was gone again. "No, they work just fine, it's the one who wields them that is broken."

"I see…. Was it that call to arms you mentioned that did it? I've had men come into the Bumbler before that were broken by war, just shells of their former selves. There's no shame in that."

Steven felt tears on his cheeks. "I never even made it to the battle at Jericho Hill. My father and I arrived too late, and Gilead had already fallen. He knew where we were supposed to meet the others in such an event, but after everything we had just seen, all the people the Good Man's armies had killed I…I just couldn't. I fled into the night, didn't stopped running until I could no longer see the fires behind me. Later on I heard what happened. My father died with the rest of them, surrounded on those cliffs, their backs to the sea. They had nowhere to run, and fought until the last…" He choked off the rest.

His body had turned numb as he talked, and everything he heard seemed to be filtered from far away. After a moment Betany waved her hand in front of his face. He stared up at her, his mind blank.

"I have forgotten the face of my father," he said his voice a bare whisper.

Betany shook her head. "I don't know what that means, but listen to me. You didn't do anything wrong. Anyone in your place would have run, when the odds were long and the prospects grim. You made the right call, and any other man would have done the same."

"But I'm not supposed to be like other men. I was supposed to be like them."

"Yet they're dead and you're alive, there's no changing that," Betany cupped his face in her hands, and when he looked at her she kissed him on the lips. "I can't take away that pain, but I can help you dull it a bit. I imagine you'll be needing a place to sleep anyway, can't go back to Hilde's place until daylight."

She took Steven's hand in her own and led him back towards the town.

* * *

Afterwards they lay together in Betany's bed, wrapped in a thin gray blanket, and he told her about his plan for the next day. She listened with interest, and said, "yes, that should work, assuming you can get Kilpatrick to talk without trying to run you through."

"That is a distinct possibility," Steven admitted, "but I'm betting his self-preservation will outweigh his need for revenge against me."

"Alright, while you set all this in motion today, I'll get horses for us. They'll be down among the trees where Imar attacked you. Make it there once the fighting starts, and we'll be free."

"Us?" Steven sat up in bed. "Betany, I don't think-"

"I don't care much about what you think, I'm coming with you and that's final. My pa too, no way I'm leaving him here to die when you finally knock down the last beam that's holding this place together. I've had little enough reason to stay as it is, so we'll take our chances out on the open road with you."

"But why would you want to give up everything you have here?"

Betany waved an arm about, "What exactly am I supposed to have here? This place is dying, whether quick or slow our town's last days are coming, and I should have left long before now. Besides, I have my own reasons for hating the mining corps, so if your plan can be my little parting gift to them, all the better."

Steven started to protest, then thought better of it. "Do you think your father will? Come along that is?"

"I'll know better when I ask him," she let out a short laugh, "he probably knows already, thin as the walls between our rooms are."

She rolled over and faced away from him. Steven sat there a moment, then turned to her and said, "by the way, I never had a chance to thank you-" but Betany had already fallen asleep.

* * *

A short time past dawn found the gunslinger and a half dozen of the Johnson boys working their way toward the Turtle Rock mine. Clem had been in high spirits after yesterday's unexpected good fortune, and allowed most of his men the day off, claiming that Dela would be too busy licking its wounds to try anything more for a while. That at least was the official reason given, but Steven knew there was another, one that he had discussed with the leader of Johnson in private earlier that morning.

Sending the gunslinger and the others out here was part of that plan, all a ruse to make sure it appeared like their help would be far away. If anyone from Dela followed them, they would see a pair of guards take up position at the mine entrance and the others disappearing inside. What wasn't known to to other than Clem and his lieutenants was the second mine entrance on the other side of the hill. Steven and ten of the others would make their way back to Johnson, and be ready for what came next.

They arrived at the edge of a rock strewn clearing. Steven, ahead of the other men by several steps, came to an abrupt halt. A wave of grumbling passed down the line, but a quick motion of his hand sent the men silent. Then the gunslinger dropped to ground behind a fallen log, and the other men hastened to do the same.

Steven and the others peered over the top. Across the clearing, the man in red appeared. He stood there, sniffing the air. His head turned to survey the field, and when it approached their position the others ducked their heads in panic. Steven, however, did not move as the crimson figure continued to scan the horizon. At last he turned and went back the way he had come.

Steven rose from the ground, and the men followed his example. "Who was that Bo? Is there a problem?" One of them asked.

"No, no problem, not yet anyway." Steven shook his head. "We stick to the plan. Onward to the mine." But after that the gunslinger let the others take the lead, and lingered at the end of the line, watching over his shoulder.

* * *

The gunslinger strode towards the Dela Corps entrance with as much confidence as he could muster. He had left the Johnson men at the outskirts of town, and as far as Clem and the others knew he would be setting up for the next stage of the plan. The gunslinger kept his own council though, and the plan he had told Betany last night called for a bit of a gamble.

The men outside saw him coming, and this time they did not wait for him to get close. Before he had crossed half the distance, three men appeared in the doorway with bows drawn. Behind them stood Kilpatrick, his face set to murder. "You must think we're some kind of stupid. Did you really expect to be able to just walk back in here like nothing happened yesterday?"

Steven held up his hands, "Calm down Kilpatrick, that was nothing personal, merely self preservation. Your man Tern meant to betray me, I simply struck before he had a chance."

From behind Kilpatrick came a loud squawk. Tern appeared between two of the archers, face pressed to comical proportions by their shoulders as he tried to reach the gunslinger. "You lying snake! I'll beat the truth out of you if I have to-" the rest was lost as hands appeared and pulled Tern back inside.

Kilpatrick waited until the sounds of Tern's yelling faded away. "You'll have to pardon me if I take my men's word over your own."

Steven shrugged, "you do what you want. Regardless of what happened at the mines, things have changed."

"Changed? What do you mean?"

"I spent some time with Clem Johnson yesterday, and he aims to turn yesterday's misfortune against you tenfold. He plans to siege your building today while you're recovering, put it to the torch and kill everyone who tries to escape."

"Oh? And why should I believe that. Seems you haven't done anything to earn my trust."

"Because this is different, the Johnson Family is going to slaughter you to the last man. I can't stand by and let that happen."

"Let him try," Kilpatrick said with a laugh, "we have more men than him."

"Won't matter if he has the element of surprise. Look, you know he's coming now, that should be enough, but when the attack begins I'll fire my gun three times. You hear that, you know they're coming for you. Run out into the streets or man your walls, makes no difference to me, but it's the least I can do to repay you for what happened yesterday."

Kilpatrick rubbed his chin. "I'll…consider it."

"Listen for my signal. Three shots, don't forget now." Steven turned and marched away. Only when he turned a corner and the Dela headquarters disappeared from view did he switch from a steady walk into a run.

He burst into the door of the Hungry Bumbler. The main room was empty at this time of day, the fire in the hearth banked low. He passed through the double doors to the back, but here too was unoccupied.

"Betany? Loter? Where are you? Everything is in place, it's time to go." He searched the bedrooms and the cellar, but neither father nor daughter were to be found anywhere. Then it occurred to him that they might be waiting down at the meeting spot, horses at the ready. He rushed to the back door and threw it open.

Steven had become accustomed to the low light inside, and for a moment he shielded his eyes, not quite understanding the sight he beheld. At last his vision adjusted to the brightness, and the shapes before him resolved into Kilpatrick and a dozen of his men. Betany stood next to Kilpatrick, her hands bound behind her. At the gunslinger's appearance Kilpatrick drew a knife and held it to her throat.

"That's far enough there Bo, or whoever you really are. I've had quite enough of these games already."

Steven froze, not taking his eyes from Kilpatrick. "What is going on here? What are you doing to her?"

"Oh, don't you be worrying about poor Betany here, I'd be worrying more about your own skin at the moment," Kilpatrick spat into the dirt, "the lass always refused to choose a side, but I never made an issue of it, figured she would come back around to us in time. But then to have her betray not just Dela, but the town? For a worthless stranger like you? I can't even begin to wrap my head around it."

"Steven, I'm sorry," Betany managed in a shaky voice, "my father-"

Kilpatrick pressed the knife to her throat, and Betany cut off with a squeak. "Yes, good old Loiter still remembered his place was with us, even after all these years. Came running to me this morning, told me everything he heard. You should have learned from your old man while you had the chance girl."

"Alright, that's enough," Steven's guns were in his hands. He stared at Kilpatrick and tried to calm his breath. "I'll only say this once. Let her go."

"Or what, you'll shoot me? Go ahead and try, my men will tear you to pieces before you get off a single shot."

The men started inching forward. "Last chance," Steven said.

"Grab him," the words had no sooner left Kilpatrick's mouth than the gunslinger pointed his pistols into the air. A trio of shots rang out in quick succession. Then in the next instant they were back in the holsters at Steven's side. Kilpatrick and his men stood where they had been, looks of confusion washing across their faces.

Then comprehension dawned on Kilpatrick's face. "The Johnson Family!" He turned, and already up the hill the sounds of men shouting could be heard. A moment later there was a flash, and smoke began filling the sky above the Dela Corp.

"Boss, what do we do?" One of the men asked. Kilpatrick shook his head.

"Head back. We're gonna need every man we've got if we want to end this." He turned back to Steven as the men ran up the hill. "Well, you think you have everything figured out, don't you stranger. Except for one thing."

"Oh?" Steven asked, "and what's that?"

"This."

Kilpatrick sliced the knife across Betany's throat, then pushed her towards Steven. The gunslinger jumped forward, and caught the girl as the leader of Dela Corp chased after the rest of his men. Already the front of her dress had gone red with blood, and she let out a strangled noise, trying to breathe through her broken throat. He held her close, not knowing what else to do.

Betany reached a hand up and patted the gunslinger's cheek. Her lips curled into a hint of a smile. Then a gurgling noise burst from her throat, and she went still in his arms.

Steven lay the body down, and after a gentle touch to the girl's cheek he stood once again. Blood covered his shirt, but he took no more notice of it than he would have a buzzing insect. He stared up the hill, and as he watched a second flame bloomed in the direction of the Johnson headquarters. He turned and strode down the hill to the copse of trees, and gathered the horses that were waiting there. By the time Steven had mounted, he could see flames coming from four other buildings, then eight. When he reached the plateau to the north, the forest had caught fire as well. The town had made itself into a funeral pyre, and the gunslinger was its only mourner.

Then, in the distance he saw the man in red step out of the flames. He strode through the smoky woods, the fires around him melting away and then springing back up the moment he was past. He looked in the gunslinger's direction, and waved a hand over his head. Steven turned his horse and sped away as night descended upon him, the glow of the fire at his back guiding his way.

To be continued in Part 2: Ka-Tet


	2. Part 2 Chapter 1: Ronin

Part 2: Ka-Tet

Chapter 1: Ronin

Yonezawa Aki opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. From where she lay she could see all four corners of her two tatami mat room, illuminated by the dim glow of her alarm clock. For several heartbeats she contemplated never getting up again, but rather just staying in bed until the landlord threw her out with the rest of the garbage and found a tenant that was still full of stupid hopes and dreams and money from parents back home. Aki's own mother had stopped sending checks two months ago, and while she understood that her family had bigger issues than continuing to support their failure of a daughter, it hadn't done much for the ever growing knot in her stomach.

As if summoned by her thoughts, her belly let out a menacing growl. Aki sat up and turned on a light, showing the unadorned walls of her apartment, the victims of her initial optimism that such a place was only a short term step in her climb up the Tokyo corporate ladder. Now putting anything on them would just feel like defeat.

Aki knew she shouldn't complain. She still had a roof over her head, even if it was a tiny one, and she had four prospective businesses to speak with today. Something would turn up, if she just kept trying. Picking up the papers she had printed last night, she reviewed her itinerary for the day. Interviews, lunch with Maru, practice. Dinner with Daichi if he managed to get off work in time. Another average day in the life of Aki.

She ate some leftover ramen from last night, her poor rice cooker all cold and abandoned in the corner. With luck something good would happen today, and she could stop at the corner store on the way home and buy plenty of food to celebrate. She might have to stop there anyway since the ramen was the last item in the fridge, unless Daichi came through for her again.

After eating she dressed in her best business suit, the skirt cut tight enough that it hurt to walk at more than a casual pace. She opened her door and peered down the hallway, but there was no one else up and about this early. Aki had a sudden vision of Watanabe-san lying in wait outside her door, ready to pounce the minute she turned the handle. This month's rent was already late, so it wouldn't have been out of character for him. He must have slept in today though, because it was all quiet as she tiptoed by his door.

Between the skirt and her heels, each step she took became a painful, careful effort. Luckily the train station was just a few streets down. That had been one of the reasons she had chosen to live in this particular apartment, though it also meant the price was a bit higher than she really should have agreed to. Still, from what Maru had told her about some other places for rent in Tokyo, Aki might have ended up a lot worse off. If only a job offer came with a nice furnished apartment...as long as she was dreaming, might as well throw in a chauffeur and a pet panda too.

The train pulled into the station, the air swirling about her and threatening to send her hair into disarray. She got on and stared out the window as the landscape began to slide by. Three stops to her first interview, that had to be a good sign, right?

* * *

"Well well, if it isn't Miss Famous. How does it feel to be a one minute celebrity?" Maru smiled like a cat about to devour a mouse.

"I'm too tired for games Maru, want to just tell me what you're talking about?" Aki ordered tea from the waitress and then collapsed into a chair with a little sigh. Each interview had gone progressively worse than the previous one. The last interviewer had actually looked at her over his glasses and said that, "maybe you would be a better fit in a different industry." She had bowed politely and thanked him for his time, when all she wanted was to just start screaming, right there in the middle of the busy office floor. She would have gotten a bad reputation, but at least it would have been cathartic.

Maru looked hurt. "Did you not get my text last night?"

"Sorry, I lost track of time looking at job listings. Why, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing much, just a little someone finally got her first article published." Maru laid down a magazine on the table. It was a copy of Nihon Today, the publication she worked for. A large picture of Aki filed an entire page, her leaning over a cafe table while looking through a pile of papers. Next to the picture was an article titled "Japan's Growing Employment Problem", written by Takahashi Maru.

Aki picked up the magazine and began scanning the article, "... University graduate Yonazawa Aki is part of an expanding pool of NEETS, or Not in Education, Employment, or Training. Since graduating from the Waseda School of business in Tokyo, she has been relentlessly…" she paused and looked up at Maru, "you wrote an article about me?"

"Technically I wrote it like six months ago," Maru pointed out, "it just only now got published. This could be good news for both of us: I might finally start getting serious assignments, and some company might see this and decide to hire you. Who knows, you could get a call from some big conglomerate tomorrow!"

"At this point I'd settle for anything. I'd even be a bicycle courier if I thought they would hire me," Aki sighed.

"With legs like yours, you should be a courier. I bet you would make lots of money."

"Gah!" Aki flopped over onto the table and laid her head on the picture of herself. "I don't want to have to go back home to Hokkaido, I like it here!"

The waitress returned and Aki forced herself to sit up and look presentable. She picked up her tea and tried not to stare with hunger at the piece of cake that Maru had ordered. She blew away the steam that billowed from her cup and wondered if maybe she should consider changing fields after all. There are only so many hints a person can receive before they have to start listening.

"So how are things with you and Masou?" She asked.

"Oh, you know," Maru shrugged, "he keeps saying that we should get married, but there's always an excuse after. When our jobs are secure, when we can afford a house, when, when, when. If I let him he'll just keep going on making excuses until we're both old and gray."

"At least he's is dependable in his consistency. Masou and Maru, the perfect couple."

"What about you?" Maru asked through a mouthful of cake, "how are things between you and Daichi lately?"

"Good, I suppose. I'm glad that one of us has work, but I hate that he's so busy all the time."

Maru snorted, "I'd hardly call that restaurant 'work'. Every time I stop in it seems like half the staff is just standing around."

Aki started to come to her boyfriend's defense, but stopped herself. A part of her felt guilty about Daichi's work, since it was mostly responsible for keeping her fed. She wasn't secretly encouraging him to stay there just for her benefit, was she? Aki resolved to be more supportive of Daichi's own job hunt next time she saw him.

"Well, this has been fun, but I need to get going."

"Already?" Maru made a face, "don't tell me you're heading back to that depressing old building again. How often do you go there anyway?"

"Every afternoon that I don't find work. I can't decide if that place is my lucky charm or my curse." Aki paid for her drink, waved goodbye to Maru, and started her uncomfortable walk back to the train station.

* * *

After the oppressive air outside, the shadowed dojo felt like cool spring water on Aki's skin. The building was quiet this time of day, which suited her just fine; she wouldn't have wanted anyone seeing her right now, business suit all askew and drenched with sweat. After a quick bow to the altar, she made her way to the changing room. Sensei let her keep her uniform here along with her shinai, the bamboo sword used in practice, but then that was just one of the many favors he had done for her over the years. It would have made sense for Aki to go to a Kendo center closer to her apartment, as this one was forty-five minutes away by train, but here she didn't have to pay any dues. Sensei let her use the space whenever classes weren't in session, a privilege she had been taking advantage of quite a bit lately.

Stepping out onto the dojo floor, she stepped into suri-ashi, her feet knowing where to go by pure instinct. She moved through her katas, the forms and patterns she had been practicing since her father first started her in lessons when she was six. She flowed from strike to strike, all of her concentration poured into the shinai in front of her. In these moments, she could forget about the rest of the world, forget about hunting for a job, or paying her bills. There was just the forms, and she gave herself to them; her hunger, fatigue, and frustration disappearing into the void that now surrounded her.

As her last set reached its end she looked up to see the dojo wreathed in darkness, the little light from outside having scattered with the setting sun. Pulling away a glove she checked her watch. There was still plenty of time to get back across town to her date with Daichi. She exhaled a loud sigh of relief.

Behind her, a light came on, chasing away the darkness. She turned around and squinted into the sudden glare. "Dedicated as always, aren't you, Aki-san?" The voice was loud and rough, but had a hint of amusement to it as well.

Aki bowed as the figure walked out of the light towards her. "Good evening Kuma-sensei." Her former teacher was an imposing figure, heavily muscled and as tall as an American. However, over the years Aki had learned that his gruff exterior hid a kind and thoughtful man. Not many of his students knew that he spent much of his free time tending to his rooftop garden, or that he put food out behind the dojo for the stray cats that wandered the neighborhood. It was knowledge that he gifted only a chosen few, among which she happily counted herself as a member.

Kuma nodded, but otherwise did not acknowledge her greeting, "yes, you have such skill, especially for one so young, yet you continue to ignore your one failing, and in that way you remain a novice."

"What is it that I am lacking sensei?" Aki knew better than to point out that she held 4th dan, a title that Kuma himself had bestowed upon her.

"You favor oji-waza in your practice. If you only learn how to respond to an attack, how will you ever become a master Kendoka?"

"I train to better myself, not to achieve prestige. I don't want to be the one who initiates a fight. Offensive strikes force you to be the aggressor."

"Eh! Did you learn nothing from your time with me? Perhaps I should put you back in class with my first year students." Aki's face flushed and she bowed her head at the thought. Kuma continued, "you study at the forms and you see two sides of a coin: attack or defend. You need to stop looking with your eyes, and instead observe the truth that is beyond eyes."

"What truth is that, sensei?"

"To attack or defend, it is not driven by the forms. You do not strike with your sword, you strike with your heart. To do otherwise is to forget everything that I have tried to teach you."

Kuma lapsed into silence, and Aki stayed where she was, head bowed. She knew the truth of Kuma-sensei's words, but it was hard to change her way of thinking. Perhaps this was why her job search progressed so poorly; she just reacted, instead of being the first to act.

At last, she risked a peek at Kuma-sensei. He had a broad smile on his face, his hands cocked to his hips in a mockery of disapproval. Aki relaxed and straightened up to look at him proper.

"Well, that's enough discipline for today, I think. Would you do your former teacher the honor of having some tea with him before you go?" Aki nodded, and they moved into the light of the hallway leading to Sensei's office.

Kuma's private space was a direct reflection of the man himself. Warm lighting and soft wooden paneling gave the room an inviting feel, and the traditional bonsai plants on his shelves somehow did not seem at odds with the prints of famous Monet paintings that adorned the walls. An electric kettle in the corner whistled, and while Aki took a seat Sensei busied himself pulling a tea set from the shelves and pouring the water. They chatted about nothing in particular while the leaves steeped, and then for a few minutes the small room filled with quiet exhalations as they worked to cool their steaming cups.

At last Kuma-sensei leaned back in his chair and sighed, "Oh Aki-san, what I would give to have a hundred students like you, or even just ten. The children and adults I teach today don't have the same respect or discipline they used to. Even the other dojos are losing their way, becoming more about the politics of Kendo than the artistry. Not like the old days at all. Why, when I was a student at Noma…" he lapsed into silence, and Aki could see from the look in his eyes that he had gone somewhere far away.

"What was it like there?" She asked, even though he had told this story to her twenty times already.

"Like nothing like you've ever seen before! Sun pouring in from above and the floor itself seemed alive with each step you took. When the gardens outside were in full bloom you nearly drowned in the sweet scent that filled the hall, and every lesson left you with more strength than when you began. That was a place where legends were made, where true Kendoka were born! It was old before I first came to it, and I spent most of my life training under its roof. I wish you could have seen it Aki-san, even for a moment."

"I've seen the pictures," she pointed to one that sat behind Kuma-sensei at this moment, a black and white shot of a much younger Kuma, shinai in hand and sweat matting his hair.

Kuma waved a hand in front of his face, "It's not the same. To actually stand there, to walk those floors...when we lost that hall, I fear that all of Kendo lost some of its spirit as well. The world is changing, and not for the better. It may be that you find yourself one day to be the last of your kind, a true disciple to the art of the sword."

Aki stayed silent, but the force of Kuma's words fed into her guilt. She had been so focused on Kendo as a way to relieve the stress of her other problems lately. No matter what she did, it always seemed to be the wrong choice. She started to tell Kuma that he too easily misplaced his faith in her, that she was no better than any of the others, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Instead she stood up and said, "I really need to get going, I'm meeting with Daichi soon."

Kuma grunted. "Feh. you deserve better than that one. He's too wrapped up in the material world."

"Daichi is good to me. I wouldn't still be here in Tokyo if it wasn't for him."

"Of course, I meant no offense. Just remember Aki-san, you are destined for great things. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"I won't. Thank you for the tea, sensei."

* * *

She met Daichi at a traditional little restaurant not far from Chiyoda station. Her business suit was back at her apartment awaiting a good cleaning, and she felt much better now that she had on something a bit more comfortable. Daichi had sat at a table in the back, and waved at her as she entered. She fought her way to him through the throngs of revelers and company men, and slipped into an empty seat with a breathless sigh.

"You are not going to believe this, I had four interviews today, four, and I don't think any of them went well at all," she looked at a menu, "have you ordered already?"

Daichi shook his head, and she could tell something was off. He looked...excited, and possibly a little nervous. "I had too much else on my mind. I quit my job today."

"What?" His abruptness threw her off guard. "That's...good? I hope that's a good thing."

"Oh, it is," Daichi grinned at her, "I finally got a job offer, from Murata Manufacturing. They want me to start right away!"

"Daichi, that's wonderful!" Then Aki frowned, "where in Tokyo are they? I'm not familiar with that name."

"They...they're not in Tokyo. They have a headquarter in Kyoto."

"Kyoto? But that's so far away from here! What about your family?"

Daichi shrugged, "They know this is what I've wanted for a long time. Besides, it's not so far by train, only three hours or so."

"Oh, of course! That's not so far for me to travel either, I suppose. I should be able to make it every other weekend at least."

"Well…" he looked uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Or did you want me to come with you? Is that what this is all about, you're worried that I wouldn't want to move?" Now that the surprise had worn off, excitement coursed through her from the idea of a fresh start. "I love Tokyo more than my hometown, that's for sure, but any big city is sure to have opportunities for me. Who knows, I might even have better luck finding work down there as well!"

"I...I think you should stay here Yonezawa-san. You love Tokyo, and shouldn't be wasting all your time riding the train."

For the second time that night Daichi's sudden shifts threw her off guard. "What...what are you saying, wasting my time? And why are you so formal all of a sudden?" Understanding blossomed in her brain, and her gut did a double flip. "Are you breaking up with me? Is that what this is about?"

"No! This is about what's doing best for both of us. Please don't shout Yonezawa-san." Only then did Aki notice that several of the other customers around them had stopped talking and were averting their gaze, looking anywhere in the restaurant but at her and Daichi. Aki was too mad to care though.

"Three years! Three years we've been dating. We took trips together, I helped you study for tests...you met my parents you monster, did you not think that was a big deal?"

Aki stood up and leaned over Daichi, hand pressed hard into the table. Much of the restaurant had gone quiet at this point, the only sounds coming from the kitchen where the owners were still unaware of what was happening on the other side of the curtain. Daichi averted his gaze from Aki and swallowed before speaking, "calm down Yonezawa-san, please! Here, let's sit and talk this out over dinner. I know how quick you are to anger when you haven't eaten all day."

The pity in his voice left a sour taste in her mouth, and she had to bite down the first retort that came to mind. Instead she straightened and marched away from the table. When she had taken two or three steps she stopped, and without turning around said loud enough for Daichi to hear, "good luck in Kyoto. I hope it's everything you deserve and more." With that she stalked out of the restaurant, almost passing the train station by from the tears that clouded her vision.

* * *

Even after having the entire train ride to calm herself down, Aki was still rather out of it when she returned to her apartment building. Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't even notice Watanabe-san talking with another tenant as she trudged by them on her way to the stairs. Just as she reached the first step, the old man appeared next her, arms crossed and a stern expression on his face. "Miss Yonezawa, your rent money please."

She didn't have the patience to deal with this right now. "Sorry Mr. Watanabe, but can we talk in the morning?"

"We most certainly will not! You are ten days late with your rent, and this is the second time in as many months! I don't know what sort of organization you think I'm running here, but this building is my livelihood, and those who can't pay have to go."

"Fine, do whatever you want," anger flared through her and she almost spat on the man, "throw me out in the street, let me starve by your front door, I'm sure that will get plenty of prospective renters flocking in. Watanabe-san, the man who couldn't bend his heart enough to spare one poor girl in her hour of need, that's what they'll whisper behind your back as you walk down the street!"

Watanabe had taken a step away from her, and his stern expression disappeared, replaced by nervous shiftiness. "There's no need to make threats. If you need more time I suppose I can wait another day or two."

Aki sighed, all of the fight gone out of her as quickly as it had appeared. "No, please allow me to apologize, that was uncalled for. I promise you that if I don't have rent money to you tomorrow, I'll move out. You've been generous enough to me already."

She bowed to Watanabe, who seemed more taken aback by her sudden calm than he had her defiance a moment ago. "That will do just fine Miss Yonezawa. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know." With that he retreated back down the hallway.

Aki climbed the stairs to her apartment, each step appearing to grow in front of her until it felt like crossing an insurmountable void. She stumbled into her apartment with the last of her strength, and lay down on the floor, shoes still on. If she borrowed a little from Maru, she had enough left in her bank account to pay the rent, but then there would be nothing left for her other necessities. Food or shelter, such a terrible choice to have to make. Or she could take the third route, and go crash with Maru and Masou for a few days until she could take a train back to Hokkaido. Her parents wouldn't be happy, but they would let her work on the farm until she found something else. Sapporo was no Tokyo, but there were bound to be some work opportunities there.

She turned and stared at her closet, allowing the choices to tumble about in her mind, none of them what she really wanted to do. Then she saw something that made her sit up. She reached into her closet, and pulled out a katana in a lacquered sheath, one of her most prized possessions. It had been in her family for generations, and according to her father it had first been presented to one of her ancestors after the battle of Sekigahara. It was old, but also quite beautiful, with ornate scrollwork running the length of the blade. Aki had never used it herself, but once her father had demonstrated the sword's potency to her by slicing a small tree in half. She still pulled it out on a regular basis to go over the katana and make sure it didn't lose its edge.

She could easily sell it for several months in rent, plus food to feed her, but selling it would be like cutting off her own arm. Besides that, what would her parents say if they found out she had lost their family heirloom? Getting disowned would be the least of her worries.

Yet there had to be a way that Aki could stay here in Tokyo just a little bit longer. If she just had a few more days, a month even, she knew she could find a job. She felt so close already, all she needed was the right opportunity. Destiny called out her name, echoing across the winds and into her dreams, and that destiny lay in Tokyo, she just knew it. But sometimes it took a little push to be where opportunity needed you to be.

She changed and got ready for bed. By the time she had laid down and turned off the light, she knew what she needed to do next.

* * *

Bright and early the next day Aki took the train over to the Akihabara district. She wandered through the throngs of shoppers, passing shops with clean white displays showing all manner of goods, from appliances to the latest otaku obsessions. She felt a little on edge carrying a real sword around such a crowded shopping area, even if it was secured inside one of her old shinai cases, but after several of the curios she saw a few other shoppers had with them, she let go of her concern. Clearly she was not the strangest thing on the streets today.

At last she found the place she had been looking for. A sign labeled in large english letters hung over the entrance, under which were clean displays of watches and Gucci handbags. She took a deep breath and stepped inside.

A smiling clerk stood at one counter, and bowed as she approached. "Good morning, and welcome to Daikokuya, the largest and most respected reseller in Japan. What are you looking to buy today?"

"Loan, actually," she hefted the case for emphasis.

"Ah, of course. Please step into the back room, we have a special area reserved for those looking to make such transactions."

She followed the clerk into a side room that looked much like the previous one but lacked the many display cases. An older gentlemen entered the room and the clerk bowed and departed. She handed the case over to the older man and stood there as he inspected the sword. It was all she could do not to shuffle from foot to foot.

"It's been in my family since the seventeenth century," she offered up as the man held the blade forward and inspected its edge, "it is quite precious to me."

The man grunted but didn't look up at her. Aki continued, "I saw online that I have thirty days until you'll sell it, is that correct? So long as I repay the loan in full before then?"

"Yes yes, of course," the older man returned the sword to its case and set them down on a table. "We can offer you longer than that too if you need, under certain circumstances. Alright, I've seen everything I need to. I think we could offer you perhaps...fifty thousand yen? I'm afraid I can't go any higher than that, not a big market for antique swords."

"Fifty?" That wouldn't even cover her rent. "I was hoping for a bit more than that. You saw the ornate scrollwork on the blade, didn't you?"

The old man shook his head. "It is a fine antique, but I'm afraid the blade itself is just in too bad a shape, what with all those nicks and markings. I have to be able to make a profit on anything I sell, you understand."

"Markings?" Aki had just gone over the blade before leaving, making sure that it was flawless. She pulled the sword out and inspected it. Sure enough, there were several large cracks along the sword that she was positive had not been there when she left her apartment. "This is...this isn't...I need time to think about your offer."

"Of course. If you change your mind you know where to find us." The old man waved a hand at her as she fled out of the store. She couldn't understand what had gone wrong in there. The sword had been fine earlier, yet something had clearly happened on her way to Akihabara. Every hope and plan she had felt like it was being crushed during the last twenty-four hours, and now this. It was all just too much.

She wandered the streets in a daze, not really paying attention to where her feet went. Lights and shop signs turned into a blur as she moved from one street to the next, trying to decide what she should do. Pawning the sword for just long enough to find a job had been her last hope. Unless she found work in the next few days, she'd still end up borrowing from Maru. Was it worth risking her family sword for so little? No, better to just accept fate and return home.

Then Aki looked up, and found herself on a quiet street, the only other pedestrians a young couple out visiting the shops. She stopped by a window display and looked about her in wonder. The street was an unfamiliar one, and she had clearly come quite a ways from the busy center of Akihabara.

She glanced at the shop window, and then looked again, closer this time. The shop was as different from Daikokuya as night from day. The windows were full of old curios, mahogany desks crammed up against marble statues to one side, a miniature torii gate displayed at the other. The interior of the shop was dark, and the scent of incense wafted about her even from this far away. Still, it had an inviting look, and a sign out front promised top prices offered in collateral loans. It was a bit rustic, but still a pawn shop. Before she realized what she was doing, Aki had crossed the threshold and slipped inside.

As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw the shop was even more crammed inside. Every available space held antiques, the sheer quantity and variety threatening to overwhelm her. She made her way to the front counter, which was currently unoccupied. After waiting a few moments, she rang the small bell next to the register. An older woman, around her own mother's age perhaps, appeared from the back.

"Good morning, and welcome to Mika Family Antiques. Is there anything in particular I can help you find? We have wonders from around the world that you won't find anywhere else in Tokyo."

Aki shook her head. "I was actually wondering if you might be interested in making a loan for this?" She set the sword case on the counter. "It's a family heirloom."

"Ah, you'll want to speak with my father about that. He handles all purchasing decisions. Please wait just a moment." The woman disappeared into the back once again.

Aki waited, doing her best not to pace back and forth. She looked around the shop, marveling at the beauty of several wall hangings that were on display. After that she found a small bookshelf, which much to her surprise contained a book she hadn't read before by American author Richard Bachman, translated into Japanese. She set it on the counter next to the blade.

When neither the woman nor her father returned after a few minutes, she took a seat in an ornate wooden chair near the counter. It was shaped like a throne, with trellises of red roses painted along the backing. She hesitated to sit in it at first, but there were no signs and her feet were sore from so much walking.

She settled down, but stood up again almost immediately and collected the katana from the counter. Sitting down again she opened the case and removed the ancestral weapon. She held it at arm's length and inspected the blade. Even in the dim light it was still plain to see that the edge had neither chipped nor been worn dull. She tested her finger along it, and pulled it back with a jerk. A line of blood appeared on her fingertip, and she stuck it inside her mouth feeling rather foolish all of a sudden. The blade had been worn and dull at the last shop. Was she going crazy?

She leaned back against the chair with a sigh, resting the blade against her shoulder. It would be just her luck if the stress of the last twenty-four hours had made her crazy, but she didn't feel any different. Perhaps it had just been some trick that the last shop played, so they could offer her a lower price.

The back of the chair quivered, and Aki sat forward, fearing she had done some damage to it. The next moment the seat shifted as well, and then seemed to just melt away. She flailed her arms as she fell backwards, but there was nothing to find purchase on. Her back struck hard stone with a thud, her family's sword clattering down next to her. The little light illuminating the shop had been lost from this angle, and for the moment she found herself surrounded by darkness.

She started to sit up, and the next instant laid back down again, clutching her head. As the pain receded she stretched her hands outward, and felt rough stone just ten or so centimeters from her face. Still not sure what was going on, Aki stretched her hands to either side, and felt stone surrounding her there as well. She started to panic, and the sounds of her labored breathing left her feeling smothered and boxed in. Forcing herself to calm down, she considered her situation. Somehow she had fallen inside a crate or something. That was the only logical explanation.

Aki pressed her hands to ceiling again, and gave it a firm push. She felt the stone move slightly, and tried again. It slid to one side, and a crack of light from the shop appeared through the opening. Encouraged by this, she heaved with all her might, and the stone lid fell to one side with a mighty crash. She sat up, gulping the fresh air. The light all around her stuck her face, and it took a moment before she realized it was too intense to have been from the antique shop.

She sat on a hillside, and from where she perched upon the strange gray box that had held her she could see lush grass spreading away into the distance. A breeze picked up, waving the stalks about and sending a cloud of dust swirling around her. As it cleared she saw that past her hill was forest of trees, some of them taller than any skyscraper. Nearby lay the crumbling ruins of what looked like a European-style castle.

She climbed out of the box and turned in a slow circle. The sky was a brilliant blue, a few patchy clouds at the distant edges, and just peaking over the horizon were a pair of moons, glowing white like the eyes of an animal on a dark night. She gaped at the sight, then felt the back of her head for any sign of injury, sure that this was some mad hallucination.

Finding her head unharmed, she dropped to her knees and ran her hands through the rocks and dirt. The stones felt rough against her skin, as real as anything else she had ever touched. This couldn't be just in her mind, unless she was even more insane than she feared. She looked up at the sky again, the reality of the twin moons settling deep inside her.

"Something tells me I'm not in Tokyo anymore," she said, holding her sword close and shivering as a cold breeze played across her skin.


	3. Part 2 Chapter 2: The Hunt

Chapter 2: The Hunt

When Aki was a little girl, her father used to take her on hikes up Tarumae Mountain near their home. It was a beautiful place: the top was barren and austere, but down below the sunlight became infused with green from the trees and made the trail itself seem like a living thing. She would follow behind her father, picking up stones and leaves that intrigued her, while he would give her advice that she rarely listened to. One such piece that she had never forgotten, however, was this: if you find yourself lost in the woods, stay where you are. That way it is easier for rescuers to find you.

While she acknowledged that her current situation was a bit...unusual, after some consideration Aki decided that this still sounded like reasonable advice. So after wandering several circles around the base of the hill she returned and sat next to the stone box. She stared at the horizon while the sun made its steady journey across the sky, and tried to sort out everything in her head. By the time the sun had touched the distant hills though she was no closer to understanding what had happened to her, and was thirsty and cold besides.

Reasoning that any rescuer who came looking for her could just as easily be spotted from the ruins, she made her way across the field. From the hillside the castle had looked rather small compared to the trees towering over it. Up close it was much more imposing. She strained her neck to see the tallest of the remaining towers, and as she looked a burst of winged creatures poured out from within, spiraling up into the darkening sky. At first they appeared to be large bats, but as the last few disappeared she realized that they had far too many limbs to be something so simple.

She entered the remains of the courtyard, and saw that an entire wall had collapsed at the back of the structure. Just outside was a rapid river, perhaps ten meters across. There were several stone pillars jutting from the water, remnants of a bridge long since claimed by the wild currents.

The river was cold and refreshing, and after drinking her fill Aki devoted the last remaining bit of daylight to finding what shelter she could. With the little time that remained to her she managed to gather a few leafy branches from the nearby trees. These she dragged to where two of the castle walls met and formed a windbreak, and made a bed for herself as best she could. She pulled several more branches on top of her, the pitch making her fingers stick together and dirt clump on her clothes. She squeezed her eyes shut and burrowed into her makeshift bed, hoping that tomorrow would see an end to this whole ordeal.

It didn't. She spent the second day waiting by the hill and exploring the area between it and the castle, but when the sun set the only thing that had changed was the ravenous hunger that gnawed at her stomach. She even tried climbing back in the stone box, laying down and shutting her eyes, hoping that when she opened them again it would be back in the antique shop. The stubborn thing remained in this strange place each time, refusing to be anything more than cold stone. When the second day ended she admitted to herself at last that she needed to start planning for the long term.

She started hunting for food the next morning. There were several berries growing at the forest edge, but they were varieties she had never seen before in the woods back home. After tasting a few she decided it would be better to wait until her situation got much worse before attempting eat any of them. Roots and leaves were also out without knowing more about the local plant life, but meat should still be safe provided she could somehow start a fire. Before she worried about cooking anything though she had to first catch it, and this proved more difficult than she had feared. There were a few small animals wandering the fields that looked like a cross between a dog and a badger, but they hissed whenever she approached and scurried away. There were also a herd of something that looked like an antelope, but they had a trio of horns at the center of their forehead. These stuck together in tight groups, and a few of the larger one charged at her when she got close, leaving her back where she started. She had no idea how to build a trap, and no clue what sort of bait to put into it even if she could build one. The antelope creatures seemed to eat just about everything that grew in the fields, so it was doubtful any one plant would be enticing to them.

By the time the sun began to slip over the horizon on the third day Aki had wandered far out of sight of both the castle and the hill. She shook with hunger to the point where trying to catch anything had grown impossible. The berries would have to be risked after all, and if those proved inedible then...she didn't actually know what she would do after that. Probably die.

Then a noise came across the fields, and she tensed in anticipation of further disaster. When nothing happened, she grew curious and drifted in the sound's direction. Over a small rise she came across one of the antelope creatures down on its knees, its front leg twisted at an odd angle. This close she saw that the creatures were only a little bigger than a goat, most of their extra height coming from the long neck and legs. It bleated as she approached and attempted to drag itself away, leaving a smear of dark blood in its wake. At last it appeared to give up, and lay down on its side. She approached, and placed a cautious hand on its flank. The antelope twitched once, then laid still again. She stared at it, trying to decide if this was divine providence or another sick joke that the universe had decided to play on her.

Aki had helped her parents slaughter livestock when she was younger, but staring down at this broken creature felt different somehow. Ending its life would be a mercy, and yet all she saw reflected back in the creature's eyes was terror for what awaited it. She hesitated, sword half drawn, the antelope's labored breath the only sound to be heard.

At last she decided based more on her hunger than any sense of compassion. She slipped her sword from its case and plunged the blade into the antelope's chest, where she hoped that its heart was. The creature thrashed about, but after a moment its movement slowed and then came to a stiff stop. Aki removed the sword and cleaned it as best she could, then picked up the now still form and slung it over her shoulder. The encounter had disoriented her, and it took a moment before she remembered the way back to the castle. As she walked she tried to remember any tricks for starting a fire. Scraping the blade on a rock might elicit some sparks, but she seemed to recall that only worked with a certain kind of stone.

The castle appeared at the edge of her vision, and the sight gave a slight boost to her flagging energy. She passed the hill without a second glance at it, so intent on reaching the protective walls of the ruins. Any hope she had of being rescued disappeared by the minute.

She rounded the edge of the castle wall and came to such a quick stop that she almost dropped the antelope. In the middle of the courtyard and hidden by the thick stones was a crackling fire. A solitary man on a large stone sat next to it. He wasn't like anyone Aki had ever seen before, all sharp lines and hard muscles. His clothes looked picked straight out of an American Western, and he even had the pair of pistols on his hips to match. The man looked up at her, and she saw surprise on his own face as well.

"Apologies Sai, I wasn't expecting company. At least, not such as yourself," he stood up and bowed to her, not in the traditional Japanese style but with a strange swing of his hands. The man had a clipped accent that sounded like someone hammering a nail.

Still trying to make sense of his words, she stood there for perhaps half a heartbeat before regaining her composure. "I would say that feeling is mutual, but honestly I'll take anyone over another night in the wilderness alone," she marched over to the fire and dropped the animal carcass next to it. The man looked down at it and then back at her with a single raised eyebrow.

"That's an Orak."

She glanced down at the creature and shrugged, "that supposed to mean something?"

"They are omens of good fortune. Killing them is considered obscene, at best. At least, that was the the belief in my home country. I suppose I shouldn't judge another place by the different customs they keep."

"I didn't know, I'd never seen one before. Besides that, this one wasn't going to be bringing anyone else good luck. Killing it was a mercy." She knelt down and drew her katana, but paused, hovering over the carcass.

The man watched her. "Never slaughtered an animal before?"

"I have, it's just my katana wasn't exactly designed for this sort of work."

"Ah," he pulled out a long-handled knife and handed it to her. Aki sliced open the Orak and cut away several choice looking pieces of meat. She skewered them on sticks and handed them to the stranger to lean over the fire. Soon after they began to crack and sizzle, and her mouth watered from the scent that filled the courtyard.

After pulling a stick away from the fire, she took a seat on a stone across from the man and watched him across the crackling flames. He ate his own meat in silence, glancing up at her occasionally. She wondered if this stranger might know what had happened to her, but couldn't think of how to ask. At last she said, "what's your name?"

"Steven," he said through a mouthful of meat. "Thankee Sai for the meal."

"My name isn't Sai, it's Aki."

He seemed amused by this statement. "Very well Aki. What is a girl who has never seen an Orak doing so far out in the wilderness? The last settlement I passed through a week back said that these were uninhabited lands, haunted and unfit for farming."

"I...honestly don't know. Three days ago I'm wandering around Tokyo, and next thing I know here I am. I was actually hoping you might have an answer for me, since you speak Japanese so well."

"Japanese?" He frowned, and turned the word around in his mouth as if tasting it. "I've never heard of such a language before. I use the low speech, as is common most everywhere in Mid-World."

"Mid...World?" She thought again of the twin moons that hung in the sky. "So I'm not crazy then. This really isn't Earth then."

He shook his head, "I'm afraid not, that name is unfamiliar to me as well. There were tales told when I was a child about travelers from other worlds, finding portals left by the Old Ones. Perhaps you stumbled across one such as this, or perhaps you were chosen for a greater purpose by the beams. All things serve them, in their own way."

She started to ask what that meant, but before she had a chance Steven rose to his feet. "I thank you again for the meal Lady Aki, but I'm afraid I must take my leave of you. I never would have approached this place if I knew it was occupied."

"What?" She jumped to her feet as well, "no way, if you're leaving then I'm coming with you. You said yourself that this place is uninhabited."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that, I've tarried here too long as it is. If I still had my horses, perhaps, but the one who follows me…." He lapsed into silence for a minute, then said, "I can point you in the direction of the settlement, it was a frontier town called Whisp. I doubt anyone there knows the way back to your world, but you should be able to make a life for yourself, at least. If you stay with me the only thing you will find is death. It is the destiny of all who draw near me."

He turned and began walking away, but stopped after only a few steps. While they had been eating, darkness had descended upon them, and now Steven stood at the edge of their firelight, peering into the gloom. Aki realized that the sounds of birds and insects had disappeared. The only noise that filled the air was the crackle of their fire and the distant gurgling of the river. Steven moved backwards until he stood next to the fire once again.

"It is too late," his voice was more moan than speech, "he has found me once again. Flee now, if you have any sense, and most likely he will spare you. I seem to be the only thing that interests him."

"Flee, why? Who is pursuing you?"

"The man in red," he said in a bare whisper, and the sound of it sent a shiver up her spine.

Then from out in the darkness came a howl, like that of a large dog. Aki turned, and around the crumbling castle wall stepped a beast like a wolf, but its body was hairless and covered in deep cracks, which glowed with an unnatural orange light. Acrid smoke rose from the creature and drifted under her nose, and Aki had to suppress an urge to gag. The creature howled again, and moved in their direction with slow and careful steps.

Without thinking about it her katana was in her hands, and she held the blade at the ready. She glanced over at Steven and saw him standing there, guns undrawn, his hands still slack at his sides. "What are you doing?" She hissed, "shoot it already!"

He shook his head, and his eyes had the looked of man staring at his own death. "Even if I could fire them, my weapons have no effect on an ember hound."

Before she could ask any further questions the creature leapt towards Steven with a singular purpose. Aki lunged as well, and as she swung the katana downward her mind replayed the day from last year when she had achieved fourth dan. She had moved with difficulty through kiriotoshi, the complex forms leaving her gasping for breath. The last strike was off and she thought it had lost her everything, but she had pressed on anyway, swinging and blocking until her kata was complete. That moment flowed through her now, and when the haze of memory cleared she stood over the dead ember hound, her blade dripping with orange ichor as more of it soaked into the ground around her. The creature's eyes had already glazed over, and she wondered just how long she had been standing there, frozen in the moment.

She stepped back towards the fire, wiping the muck from her sword with a spare cloth. Steven had fallen over during the scuffle and was only now picking himself back up. He stared with open amazement at her, and she sensed a bit of fear in there as well. She sat down by the fire and smiled at him in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "Well, I'm glad my degree in marketing management is going to such splendid use."

Aki picked up another piece of meat from the fire and began chewing away with the hunger and satisfaction that alway came after a good sparring match. Steven watched for a moment, then started to grab what few items he had and threw them into his bag. Aki watched him with curiosity. "Still in such a hurry to leave?" she asked, "it appears that your man in red is not so close after all."

Steven paused and looked at her. "Why do you say that?"

"Well clearly that wasn't him," she waved a hand towards the ember hound corpse, which had lost its glow upon the creature's death.

"My lady, while that is true, I'm afraid that you, and I, are in even more danger than before. You see that particular ember hound was merely a…" he trailed off as several howls filled the night, twins to the one the hound had made just prior to his attack. "A scout," Steven finished with a sigh of resignation.

Aki was on her feet again, sword in hand. "What do we do now?"

"I'm not sure there is much we can. Last time I had the misfortune to be near the man in red, over a dozen hounds accompanied him. Even though you seem to possess some ability to harm them that I had thought impossible, in moments they will be here with numbers far too great for us to overcome."

"There has to be something we can do!" Aki glanced around. "What about the tower there? When I explored it yesterday it I saw it had only a single staircase leading up. The creatures would be unable to attack us in more than single file."

"And then we'll be treed like a billy-bumbler," Steven sighed again. "I suppose we have little choice. If you won't flee without me, then let us climb, now!"

Aki grabbed a branch and stuck it into the fire. The dry leave burst into flame, and while they began to die down seconds after, it still provided a small amount of light. With luck, enough to see them to the top without falling to their death. She followed after Steven, and together they worked their way up the crumbling steps of the large tower. Moments later they stood together on the exposed roof, only a few stones to one side providing any sort of wall. They walked to the edge and stared back down into the courtyard.

Everything below was still at first, and then around the edge of the castle spots of light appeared, first one, then three, then ten, each one forming into the snarling shape of an ember hound. Aki tensed, but the creatures made no further advances towards the tower. Instead they hovered at the fire's edge, waiting. A moment later, Aki found out why.

A man stepped in between the two largest beasts, and looked upwards towards them. Even with night having fallen, his features were visible by the light of their campfire and the glow of the hounds. His skin was so pale as to be almost translucent, and if Aki hadn't known better she would have thought he was a hungry ghost rather than a living man. His clothes might indeed have been red, but in the conflicting lights around him they appeared more black than anything. He stood there another moment, then waved a hand in their direction and called out, "Hail and well met! Be a good man and come down for a palaver, would ye kindly Sai? I really don't want to have to send my dogs to collect you."

"Do not listen to him," Steven said in a whisper. "He's a sorcerer, and unless you remain vigilant he will get in your head to work his magics."

From down below the man in red called up again, "Well, what say you? Don't make me wait down here till sunrise!"

"I don't think he's coming up," Aki said. "If he was going to charge his hounds in, he would have done it already."

"Indeed. I think what you did to his scout below must have him worried. He'll be cautious, at least for the moment. The only question is, how can we use this to our advantage?" Steven started to pace, muttering to himself. Aki took one more look down and then sat down with her back against the wall.

After a moment, Steven snapped his fingers and said, "Of course, why didn't I think of it earlier?" He set his pack down and began to dig through it. At last he pulled out an object and held it for her to see. She squinted at it in the dark, but it was unfamiliar.

"What is it?" she asked at last.

"Oh! I just assumed...they must not have them on your world. You'll see in a moment, assuming we survive that is." He walked over to the edge and turned back to her. "You might want to hang on to something."

"What-" she started, but then Steven dropped the object over the edge. As it disappeared from sight, he drew one of his pistols. A single shot pierced the quiet night, and before it had a chance to fade away a thunderous rumbling eclipsed and then engulfed everything else. The whole tower shook, and Aki grabbed at the stone wall for any sort of purchase. The next moment the tower began to quiver, and then tilted to the side. Aki slid over the edge, and the last thing she saw was the dark water of the river rushing up to meet her.

* * *

When Aki awoke, daylight streamed in around her. She lay next to a crackling fire, her clothes wet and cold, her fingers brushing the handle of her katana. Someone had propped a soggy blanket under her head, leaving the back of her neck as cold as ice. To her right, the river continued its ceaseless flow, slower and wider here than she remembered.

She sat up, and caught some movement nearby. Steven sat with his back to a log, his own clothes plastered to his skin. He was taking one of his guns apart, and as Aki watched he took a bottle of oil and applied it to several pieces. He glanced at her as he snapped the parts back into place. "Glad to see you're awake, I was starting to worry. I would have gotten you out of those wet clothes, but your garments were too confusing and I feared what you might do if you awoke."

"I appreciate that," she said, drawing her legs up to her chest. All of a sudden she was rather grateful that she had worn something more complex than a simple dress when she set out for Akihabara.

Steven turned around so that his back was to the fire as well as her. "If you wish to remove your clothes so they can dry, you may do so. I promise you on my honor as a gunslinger that I shall not peek."

Aki scooted closer to the flames, until the sensation on her bare skin was almost painful. "I can dry them out while they're on me just fine, thank you." Steven turned back around and resumed his work. Aki watched him for a moment, and then asked, "What are you doing anyway?"

"I have to clean the guns out before any rust forms. They spent far more time in the river than is healthy for them. With luck none of my bullets were ruined from our dunking, I don't have enough left that I can spare to lose any."

"So your guns work then? I thought you said-"

"A miscommunication of the moment. I merely meant that the will to fire them is no longer in my heart."

"But you fired them just fine from up in the tower…." At last Aki's memories of the last few hours came back in a rush, and her anger stormed in with them. "You set off a bomb below us! Of all the idiotic things to do! How did you know we would tip into the river?"

Steven looked to the side, embarrassed. "Honestly, I didn't even consider the tower might collapse. I had hoped to sow some chaos below and allow us time to escape. Still, it seems that luck was on our side, so let us just be grateful we escaped so unscathed."

"Grateful?" She was standing now. "You wild, reckless fool, you set off a bomb beneath our feet, and barely spared more than a second to warn me? I risk myself defending us, and all you can think about is saving your own skin. Of all the selfish men I've met, you're the worst!" Aki couldn't take it any more, and spun so that her back was to the fire. A few choice retorts floated up in her mind, but she bit them off before they found their way to her lips.

"My lady, I do apologize for involving you in all of this. I hope you see now why I told you traveling with me was impossible. Chaos shall reign until the man in red has his due, and I mean to keep that day as far in the future as I can. I cry pardon for being so abrupt, but after you have dried out it would be best if we parted ways."

"Fine," she didn't turn around, didn't want to even see him right now. Of all the people she had to encounter on this bizarre world, why him?

* * *

They spent the rest of the morning in silence. When the sun reached its apex, Aki judged her clothes dried out enough that she wouldn't catch a chill. Steven seemed to sense her thoughts, and stood at the same time she did. He handed her a small bag sewn from a rough cut of cloth. "Here, I made this for you earlier. I placed my flint and a few coins inside. It isn't much, but it should help you find your way."

"Steven, I...thank you," Aki bowed to him, and then picked up her katana. "Good luck on your journey. I hope that this time you lose the red man for good."

"As do I. Safe travels to you Lady Aki. May you find the place where the veil between worlds is weakest."

Aki watched as Steven moved into the trees and slipped out of sight. Then she set off following the flowing river, hoping that perhaps somewhere down the line she might find something passing for civilization in this world.

She walked for hours, following the water's meandering path. Sometimes it cut a path through thick woods, tree roots growing right down to the edge. Other times it passed through open spaces where nothing grew despite the river's proximity. Once in awhile she came upon what appeared to be tracks, but none of them looked human. Some of them were footprints as large as an elephant's, and when Aki first came across these she darted a nervous look towards the treeline, but the prints' owner never appeared.

Then Aki made her way through a patch of brambles, and found herself along the edge of a cliff. The river poured over the edge, descending perhaps fifty meters to a large lake below. As she watched, a dark shape rippled near the water's surface, churning up foam all around it, and then just as quick slipped beneath the surface and was gone again. Aki took a step back from the edge, and began to look for a pathway that would lead her somewhere, anywhere but here.

She followed the cliff line when she could, but often had to abandon it when the woods near the edge became impassible. At some point she realized that she had wandered too deep, and couldn't find her way back. After that she just took the path of least resistance, hoping that she wasn't walking in circles.

Ahead of her, a high pitched scream split the air. Aki looked up from picking her way among the trees and immediately stumbled over a large root. The scream came again, louder this time, and Aki ran in its direction as quick as she dared. Ahead of her light appeared, an opening in the trees at last. Aki burst out into a clearing of golden grass and small shrubs. The sight ahead brought her to a halt, and she stared at the scene before her, dumbfounded. Steven lay on his back, his hands held over his head to ward away a blow. Towering over him was a construct of rusted metal. It was shaped like a man, but had eight arms ending in a mess of wicked looking blades.

Sword in hand, Aki flew across the field, forms and kata forgotten, just the pure adrenaline of the moment propelling her forward. She swung the katana, and one of the creature's arms fell to the ground, severed wires sizzling and crackling. The metal monster turned in her direction and regarded her with black eyes. Aki stood with her sword at the ready, while from behind the creature Steven stared at the scene in wide-eyed terror.

"Move!" she hissed. Steven seemed to snap out of his trance and nodded, then began backpedaling away.

"Aim for the antenna!" he called. "On the top of its head!"

The creature turned at the sound of Steven's voice, and Aki saw a wire extending from the back of its skull, not unlike the kind she had seen on an old radio when she was a child. She leapt forward, her blade a flash of steel, but the machine blocked her swing with a casual flick of one of its arms, and she had to twist away to avoid being skewered by the return thrust. She swung to the side, and when the construct came at her again, she struck with debana-men, coming within a hair's breadth of the wire. Then a blade pierced her shoulder, tearing at muscle and bone. She let out a howl of pain and rolled to one side, just avoiding the follow up that would have split her in half.

Blood flowed down her arm, and between that and the pain it was hard to hold on to her sword. The creature turned in her direction, and the black lenses on its head seemed to be analyzing her with its cold, calculating mind. She leapt to her feet, and began moving in a circle around the machine. She felt lightheaded, and realized that her next attack had to finish this, or her enemy would finish it for her.

 _I do not strike with my blade, I strike with my heart_ , she reminded herself. Then, she lifted the katana and rested it on her shoulder. The creature began moving towards her, blades held at the ready. It was four steps away, then three, then two...she could see her own reflection in the thing's black eyes as it lifted its arms to attack. From somewhere far away she heard Steven yell at her to run.

Faster than she could process with conscious thought, Aki lashed out with katsugi-waza, a sudden strike used when the opponent least suspects it. The robotic humanoid had moved too close to avoid her attack, and even as its own blades nicked her arms and stomach, the katana sliced through the wire controlling it. The creature's arms went slack, and it fell backwards with a series of spasms. She leaned over and stared into the black lenses, but they were no longer moving, no longer seemed to be registering her or anything else. The machine lay twitching on the ground for another moment, emitted several loud clicks, and then went still.

Aki went to her knees, her breath ragged and shaky. Holding on to her katana with her good arm, she used it as a brace to keep herself from falling over. In the next moment Steven appeared by her side. He pressed a cloth to her shoulder, his face filled with concern.

"You're lucky...I came along," she said through gulps of air. "We've only been apart what...two hours? It's amazing you've lived...as long as you have."

"Yes yes, now hush." Steven pulled out a jar and scooped a dark green goo from inside. "I warned you it was too dangerous to be around me."

As he bound her shoulder, Aki could feel new energy flowing through her. Whatever was in that salve seemed to be helping. She allowed Steven to help her up, and leaned on his shoulder as he gathered their bags. "I would argue it is too dangerous for you to _not_ be around me." She glanced back at the broken machine as they hobbled out of the meadow. "Any idea what that thing was?"

"One of the metal men left behind by the olds ones, I imagine. I've run into such things before, but they usually aren't that mobile anymore, or that...aggressive. I wonder if perhaps it was left here to guard something?"

"Guard what?" Aki asked. She waved her hand at the approaching forest. "Trees? Rocks? Why would something like that be out in the middle of nowhere?"

"It wasn't always like this. Stories tell of how before the world moved on, the old ones covered the surface with many wonders, the greatest advances of their civilization. Now all that's left are the pieces that haven't been lost to rust and rot, such as that creature back there."

They walked on in silence for a bit, the trees growing thicker around them. Soon the forest began to slope downward, and their path followed a switchback along the side of a hill. Other than the thin path, they saw no signs that anyone else had been this way in a long time.

"Aki?" Steven asked, startling her out of her wandering thoughts. "I cry pardon that I put you in such danger back at the tower. It has been so long since I started running from the man in red that I've forgotten what it was to think about anyone other than myself."

"It's...it's alright, I forgive you." To her surprise she realized that she meant it. "You gave me a chance to run, and instead I followed you up there. I think after everything I've seen since I arrived here, you're hardly the worst of it. Until we find more people, it's important that I stay with you. We both need each other right now."

"I hope you don't live to regret those words. Or actually, I do. Hope you live, that is." Steven lapsed back into silence, and they continued to hobble along the path, which grew wider with every passing minute.

At last they saw a break in the treeline, everything beyond lost to a wall of light. The sun flared in their eyes as they emerged from the forest. When it cleared, Aki saw that before them was another clearing, but this was as different from the meadow as night from day. Paving stones covered the surface, making a large plaza that stretched into the distance, ending in front of a crumbling building. This one however was no European castle, but looked much like the buildings back at her old university. Four stories tall at least, the front showed what might have been offices at one time. Many of its windows still held glass, and the front had a dozen steps that led to a large set of double doors.

They crossed the plaza, Aki scanning for any more of the robotic creatures. Somehow she knew that this must be where the thing had come from, and what it had been trying to protect. If there were any more guardians about though, they kept their distance.

Set around the plaza in a wide circle were several statues, most broken to unrecognizable pieces, but a few merely worn down by long ages in the wind and rain. She thought one looked like a bird, and another was most certainly a turtle, but the rest were beyond her ability to discern their original form.

At last they reached the entrance. The panels slid aside at their approach, making a hissing noise as they separated. Steven looked around in a panic, but after her initial surprise wore off, Aki started to laugh. "It's alright, they're just responding to our presence. Do they not have many automatic doors on your world?"

Steven eyed the entrance with suspicion, "no, at least none that I have come across in my travels."

They entered a large lobby area, several stone benches still intact against one wall. Large pillars stood in the center, but a section of the roof they had once held was gone, and underneath the hole grew several small shrubs and moss. Behind this moss stood a large marble block. As they approached Aki could see writing, but it was a language she didn't recognize. She turned to Steven. "Any idea what that says?"

He nodded. "Though the phrase is meaningless to me. Perhaps you will recognize them?" He walked over, and running a finger along the inscription, recited, "Welcome to North Central Positronics, bringing the future to our world, today."

* * *

Far below the surface, ancient machinery began to turn on rusted gears. Computer chips covered in moss blinked and powered up for the first time in centuries. Most hissed and turned dark again after a few seconds, but one continued to function against all odds. At last completing its startup cycle, it surveyed the data that was flowing in from the sensors hundreds of feet above. Unauthorized personnel detected at the entrance. Security protocols were in place for just such a reason, and the simple minded computer hummed with pleasure, having a purpose at last after all these years.

Sparks began to flare from its terminal, and the little chip sped along, sending out code down its many wires. Heat continued to build as it waited for a response from the other end. All was quiet, the lines long dead, but the processor persisted. Then, just before the flames consumed the tiny computer and sent it on its way to oblivion, it received a single line of code: command acknowledged.

Somewhere nearby, a single door slid opened, and out of it marched a dozen machines, each shaped like a man but with a spider set of bladed arms. Working their way through the tunnels, they made their slow and purposeful ascent towards the surface.


	4. Part 2 Chapter 3: Maps and Legends

Chapter 3: Maps and Legends

"Lady Aki, I am not going to argue. You need to rest, or your wound will tear open and you may find yourself beyond my medicine's ability to heal."

"No, I'm the one who's done arguing. We have little enough time before the sun begins to set, and I'll not have you running into any more of those killer machines without me there to defend you!"

"If any more of the old one's servants remained in this place, we would have seen them by now. Even if there were, what do you plan to do about them? You are in no condition to battle again until your shoulder has time to heal."

Aki glared at the gunslinger, but Steven refused to avert his gaze. At last she sat down on one of the stone benches, shooting him an angry look. "Fine, but you find anything, I mean ANYTHING, and you come back and get me."

Steven nodded. "I swear to you by the halls of Gilead that I shall. Although what exactly you expect me to find in this ancient place, I do not know."

"Something that will help us against the man in red, or get us away from him for good. This place clearly had technology beyond anything I've ever seen. Maybe we'll even find a way for me to get home."

The gunslinger nodded, and set off down one of the corridors. Aki laid down on the cold bench and allowed her muscles to relax. Even with Steven's medicine dulling the pain in her shoulder, it still felt like she had been through a dozen consecutive Kendo matches. She closed her eyes, planning to just catch her breath before starting out after Steven, but the next thing she knew the gunslinger stood over the bench, shaking her with a gentle hand.

"What- what is it?" Aki shook off the dullness of her nap and leapt to her feet. She looked around, but the large chamber was empty except for the two of them.

"Come. I think I've found something, perhaps exactly what you were looking for." The gunslinger took her arm and led her down the long hallway. They approached a single door with no handle, which slid aside at their approach. Inside was a plain room with white stone floors and walls. Other than the lack of decay so evident elsewhere in the building, the room was unremarkable.

"Is this it?" Aki asked. She had been expecting...she wasn't sure what. A room filled with glowing machinery, or a circle of stones, or something. If there was a way home here, she couldn't see it.

"See this wall here?" Steven gestured off to one side, and when Aki turned she saw that there were the remnants of a mural painted onto the stones. She squinted at it, but the lines and shapes made no sense to her, the writing unintelligible. Steven stepped closer, and pointed out a few shapes. "It is difficult to see, so much of it has faded over time. These six lines intersect here…"

Then Aki did see it, a circle spiraling outward, a dozen lines spreading away from a dark slash at the center. At the end of each line, a shape. A few she recognized as animals, the same ones that she had seen outside the building. "Alright, so what is this exactly?"

"A map, one that I didn't believe actually existed before now," Steven grinned at her, then turned back and spread his arms wide, taking in the entire mural, "the people of Gilead believed that all of Mid-World, and every other world besides, is held together by a series of beams. At the end of each beam, a guardian animal. At the center of our world, nay, the center of all worlds, the dark tower which connects and binds all things. I thought it only a legend, a tale to give young gunslingers in training purpose, but to find it here, in this place?" He shook his head and turned back to her, "it means this is more than any mere story. The tower must exist somewhere."

Aki felt a surge of excitement building in her chest, "and this tower, it could take me home?"

"Perhaps, assuming we could find it, assuming we didn't spend the rest of our lives trying to reach it," Aki started to protest, and Steven held up his hand, "I believe there is an easier way."

He traced a hand along one of the lines. When he was a few centimeters from the end, he stopped, and tapped on a small shape next to the line, "do you see this here?"

Aki leaned forward. There was a series of square shapes just visible on the map. Buildings, she realized. "So what is that, exactly?"

Steven grinned again, "that, if I understand what writing is left here correctly, is where we are right now. North Central Positronics Research and Development Division, District 19. Which means we are close to…" his finger continued tracing to the end of the line, and stopped. Aki leaned in again, but couldn't make out what animal was drawn there.

"Close to what, Steven?" She asked, starting to get impatient. Standing here made every ache more evident with each passing moment. "What are these animals, and what are they guarding?"

"The animals themselves, I know little about. Most believed they didn't truly exist in our world, more allegory for the powers the beams represented. But the end of each beam is a real, tangible thing. And at these ends, is a portal to take you wherever you wish to go."

"Hurray!" Aki clapped her hands with joy. "So all we have to do is find this beam and follow it to the portal, and I can go home?"

"I believe so, although getting there may still prove a challenge. This particular beam is...unique from the others. Most are said to end on mountain tops or sacred valleys. This one…" he gestured to the map again, and Aki realized there was another line, this one jagged and without order, that cut through the beam shortly past their current location. "This particular beam appears to end in the middle of the Southern ocean."

"What, why?" She asked, "what guardian animal does this beam belong to?"

"Jasconius," he said, "beam of the fish."

* * *

Deep in the nearby forest, the man in red emerged from a copse of trees and surveyed his surroundings. Next to him was a wide lake, and in the distance water cascaded from the cliff line and fell the long distance to the pool below. As he stood there, the surface of the lake began to froth, and from it rose a long tendril, with a glowing blue eye set in the center. It turned, and stared at the man in red, unblinking.

One of his ember hounds padded up to his side, and let out a low growl. The man in red silenced the creature with a flick of his wrist, and the hound slunk back into the woods to rejoin its brethren. The man continued to watch the lake fiend for another moment, then dismissed it from his mind entirely. He had more important quarry this evening.

He sniffed the winds, and caught again the unmistakable scent of the one he followed, the one who had evaded him for far too long already. The gunslinger smelled like a dog that had long ago been put out of its misery, but whose odor remained to tickle the memory when passing the place where it once spent its nights. The man in red had tired of this game of chase weeks ago, and the thought that it might end soon sang in his blood, making him quiver with anticipation. He would get what he was due, one way or another.

Then another smell drifted across his nostrils, this new smell that had given him pause at the fortress ruins, something foreign, and yet oddly familiar. It was the smell of something dangerous, and it made the man in red nervous. Who was the gunslinger's new traveling companion, and why did the scent of them make him want to flee into the night? This new threat needed to be eliminated, and soon, before it could ruin all of his carefully laid plans.

Another sniff of the air confirmed the direction they had traveled, though their path had led them above rather than below. The man in red turned and moved with casual purpose back towards the woods. As he walked, he flicked his hand to the side again. Behind him, the lake fiend let out a glass-shattering screech of pain, and sank back below the water.

* * *

After leaving the white room, Aki and Steven wandered through the building together. While the gunslinger wanted to cover as much ground as possible before nightfall, something held her back. If felt like there was still something more to this place, but she couldn't have said what, exactly. So they explored several more rooms as they made their way to the other side of the building. There was little to see, mostly collapsed walls and rusted machinery. At last Aki admitted defeat. Whatever treasures this building had once held were long gone.

"Alright, time to head back to the forest. Any idea how long it will take us to reach the ocean?"

Steven shrugged, "Weeks? Certainly no more than a month or two. The real challenge begins when we get there. Boat building is not exactly a skill I learned at home, and even so, the sea outside of Gilead was a calm, gentle thing. The tales I've heard of the southern ocean speak of a place with waves that can break a ship apart in a single strike, and the water is cold enough to freeze a man's bones in minutes."

They stepped outside, not through an automatic door, but a hole where the wall had long ago crumbled to dust. Another courtyard spread out here, although this one lacked the statues that had graced the front of the building, and was much more overgrown besides. In the distance, the trees began again, pressing up against the cement ground, their roots twisting across the surface. The forest's shadowed depths looked inviting to Aki, but she turned around for a last look at the ancient building. If only it still had something else to offer them.

She noticed something next to the building, almost lost among the moss and shrubs that had spread across the stones. A hole gaped out of the earth, the steps hewn into its side descending into the darkness below. It looked oddly familiar to her, but she couldn't place it. Then comprehension dawned, and a grin spread across her face. She stopped, and Steven, who until that moment had been assisting her with his arm, swung around from the sudden change in direction. He dropped into a crouch, his eyes scanning the horizon behind them.

"What is it?" He asked, "what did you see?"

"Nothing, well, nothing bad at least," she pointed to the staircase, "can we check that out before we leave?"

Steven seemed to consider the dark entrance, and then gave a slow nod. "If you wish, but we will need a light source." Aki waited while he searched the courtyard, returning with a pair of heavy branches. He removed some cloth from his pack and fashioned a pair of torches from them. He handed one to her, and then looked away all of sudden, as if embarrassed. "Lady Aki, I do cry pardon, but…could I possibly have my flint back?"

"What? Oh, of course!" Aki dug the stone from her pack and handed it to the gunslinger. Another moment later the torches were lit, and they began to descend the stairs.

"What is it you hope to find down here, if I may ask?"

Aki shrugged, though Steven likely couldn't see it in the gloom, "I'm not sure exactly, but since your world once had automatic doors like mine, perhaps you also had...aha!"

They reached the bottom of the stairs and entered a large chamber. In front of them was a raised platform containing several benches. On a pair of tracks near the end of the platform was a subway car, or something that looked quite similar.

They approached the lone car, and Steven managed to force the door open. It was small, with room inside for perhaps six people at most, but other than a bit of dust it appeared to be in good shape. Aki walked to the front of the car, and saw that it had a single lever that could be pushed either forward or back. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Steven had entered the car, and pushed up on the lever.

Nothing happened.

Stephen walked over and stood next to her, looking out the window. There was nothing to be seen except for darkness, the light from their torches reflected off the glass and obscured anything on the other side.

"This is quite a strange thing you have found," he said, turning to her, "how did you know it would be down here?"

"I didn't, but I had my suspicions. There is something similar on our world, we call them subway stations. They use these cars to carry people from one place to another," she gestured to the lever, "I had hoped this one might still have some life left in it, but apparently we aren't that lucky. I guess it is back to walking after all."

"Do not be disheartened, lady Aki," Steven said as they made their way back onto the platform, "I have heard of such machines from stories of the old ones, and seen several on my travels as well. They are interesting relics, but without the oil that powers them they are useless."

Aki shook her head, "not all the machines in my world run on petrol, some run on…" She stopped, and Steven got a few steps ahead of her before he noticed. By the time he had turned around, she had a grin on her face again. She glanced up at the ceiling, holding the torch up for better illumination. Sure enough, there was a power wire that ran from the top of the subway car to a track line on the ceiling. At the end of the line was a box, which had further wires connected to it that trailed down the walls. Aki tracked them with her eyes until they disappeared down a side tunnel.

She started following the wire, but then stopped and turned to Steven. "Go back to the car. If I can find a way to turn the power back on, it should start to move. I left the lever in the forward position, so you'll need to pull it back down. I don't want you leaving me here without a ride."

Steven nodded and headed back the way they came. Aki moved at a slow pace, following the wire as it snaked into the darkness. The tunnel twisted a bit, but eventually ended at a heavy metal door. There was writing on the wall next to it, but Aki didn't need to know the language to guess at what it said. She tried the handle, but it wouldn't budge. She leaned on it harder, and it gave away all at once, a cloud of grit and rust filling the space around her as it swung inward. Inside were several shelves, covered in cobwebs and little else. Against the back wall was a small box. The wire along the wall ended there.

Inside the box was a lever not unlike the one from the subway car. She flipped it up, and almost dropped her torch as a light flared on all above, leaving her blinded. After several heart pounding moments the glare receded from her eyes, and she stepped back out into the tunnel. More lights had come on along the ceiling, providing a dim illumination to lead her back to the platform. Aki tossed her torch aside and began walking back as quick as her sore muscles allowed.

She was almost to the end of the tunnel when she heard Steven scream, a sound that was becoming more familiar to her ears than she would have liked. She half ran, half hobbled around the corner. Steven was at the other end of the platform next to the car, and between the two of them stood perhaps a dozen copies of the same metal man that they had encountered in the forest. Most of them were advancing on Steven, but a pair of them turned at her arrival and began making their way towards her with slow and purposeful steps.

Aki drew her katana and held it at the ready. One of these machines had nearly bested her before, she had no idea how to dispatch two of them, never mind the other ten that were encircling Steven. Already he had dived beneath one of the stone benches, and was using it as a barricade to keep the automatons at bay.

She turned her focus to the approaching pair, and tensed in anticipation of their first strike. They were still several steps away, weapons raised above their heads, unblinking eyes trained upon her with emotionless focus. They drew closer, and Aki raised her katana, blade poised to strike for their antennae.

There was a blur of motion to her right, and something large stuck the first automaton, knocking it to the ground. The second one turned to face this new threat, but before it could react a second shape collided with it, clinging to the machine with a flurry of claws and teeth. The creature sank its fangs into the robot's head, and there was a loud cracking noise as the machine split apart. It tumbled loosely to the ground, and the victorious creature spat out a few pieces of metal before it began tearing into the twitching automaton's chest. An orange glow ran across the thing's skin, and only then did Aki realize the creature in front of her was an ember hound. It glanced up at her, a single eye dilating as it took her in. Aki turned and ran for all she was worth.

Ahead of her, the remaining machines seemed unaware of their companion's destruction. They were striking at the stone bench, trying to get at the gunslinger underneath. Aki charge at the first one, her katana slicing through the air and severing the antenna so quick that it hung there for a moment before falling to the floor like a leaf in the wind. The antenna's owner collapsed to the ground, and Aki dove through the opening, knocking several more of the robots down in a flurry of flashing blades. She pulled Steven out from under the bench and began dragging him towards the subway car. Her shoulder was a wave of agony, and something wet dripped down her chest. She knew she must have pulled her wound open again, but could give it little thought beyond that. Already the machines were disentangling themselves and starting to give chase.

Steven managed to regain his feet, but stumbled again a moment later and fell to the ground. Aki had managed to outpace him, and turned around to head back. One of the automatons was closer, and before Aki could reach them, thrust downward with its blades. Steven rolled to one side, but a blade still caught him in the thigh, sinking deep into the muscle. The gunslinger let out a howl, and as soon as the robot pulled its weapon free he scrambled across the floor, his wounded leg leaving a bloody trail in its wake. Aki charged forward and swung with her sword, forcing the machine back a few steps. Another stepped passed them and strode towards Steven, who was still trying to reach the subway car with frantic, stumbling steps. Aki tried to break free, but the first automaton had forced her to step to the side, and now blocked her escape. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the other machines approaching them across the platform.

Aki swung at her opponent's leg, and while the katana did not cut through the robot's metallic flesh, it did knock the machine off balance. It tumbled to one side and she leapt over it, just avoiding the blades that passed through the air, seeking to bring her down. Ahead of her the other automaton towered over Steven, and its arms plunged towards the gunslinger's chest. Aki knew she would never reach them in time.

Then, as if from thin air, an ember hound appeared standing over Steven. The robot's blades pierced its side, but the creature didn't let out so much as a whimper. Instead it lunged forward, the blades sinking deeper into its flesh. Onward the creature strained, heedless of the blood pouring down its sides, soaking the gunslinger's clothes in red. At last the hound managed to place its front paws on the robot's chest, and with a quick snap it severed the machine's antenna. Then both robot and beast collapsed to the ground.

Aki pulled Steven to his feet. Behind them, the automatons had given up their chase and were now fully engaged in battling the hounds that swarmed around them, tearing off limbs and severing antennae. In the middle of the chaos was the man in red, and he smiled as his eyes met Aki's. She turned and stumbled after Steven towards the the subway car. No sooner was she inside than the gunslinger slammed the lever forward, and the car lurched to life. At first it moved with painful slowness, but after a second it picked up speed, and the subway platform disappeared behind them.

She collapsed onto one of the benches, breathing hard. Then the car quivered, and her perspective tilted on its side. Aki felt her head touch one of the seat cushions, and then darkness struck her like a giant beast, pulling her down into its belly and consuming her.

* * *

Aki opened her eyes, and saw Steven sitting across the aisle looking at her. Shadows covered most of the car, a single light above the only thing keeping them from total darkness. Through the window behind the gunslinger there was a blur of moving shapes, but between the angle and the light she couldn't make out any details. The only sound was the steady clacking of the subway car's wheels on the track outside.

"I'm glad to see you've awoken," Steven remarked, "passing out twice in as many days, that cannot be good for your health."

"Well it's not like I planned it or anything," Aki tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness struck her and she dropped back down. Her shoulder felt stiff, and a quick glance showed her that Steven had bound it with a fresh wrap. If she kept up like this the poor man would have no clothes left at all.

"No, I suppose you didn't. Well, once again we have survived for another day, if just barely. At the rate we are going however, it won't be long before we won't be able to flee at all. I fear our next encounter with the man in red may be our last." It was then that Aki noticed the bandage on Steven's leg. Unlike hers, a spot of blood had seeped through, darkening the bandage's center, but the worst of it appeared to be over.

"How long was I out for?"

Steven shrugged, "in here, it is hard to say. A few hours at least, no more than a day I warrant. The car has not slowed since we left the station, so I would imagine we are somewhere underneath the far mountain range by now."

"Then perhaps we have finally left the man in red behind for good. He can't catch up to us that quickly with his magic, or he would have done so already, right?"

"Agreed, although he has proven to be a most resourceful foe. I will not rest easy until I hear him breathe his last. Until then, I keep moving. First to your portal, and I will worry about the rest later."

They were silent for a few minutes, the clacking wheels lulling Aki back to sleep. She shook her head to clear it, then asked, "what will you do, after you've finally lost the man in red for good? Will you go back home, to...Gilead, was it?"

"No, I am afraid not. There is nothing left in Gilead except for ashes. The Good Man saw to that."

"Good Man?"

"Farson, a fearsome warrior and general. He led a rebellion against Gilead and the gunslingers who ruled it. It is why the man in red pursues me. He is carrying out the Good Man's orders to eradicate the last gunslinger who walks the soil of Mid-World."

"Oh Steven, I...I'm sorry, I didn't know." Aki thought for a moment, while Steven stared at the subway car floor. At last she said, "well if you have nothing for you here, why not come with me? My world is a bit different from yours, but not nearly so dangerous. You could probably make a good life for yourself there."

Steven let out a chuckle, "I recall suggesting something similar to you just a few days ago."

"Yes well…" Aki wasn't sure how to respond, "this is different, clearly. I have people waiting for me back home."

"Ah yes, I should have realized. Your husband and children must be worried about you by now."

"Husband? Children? No, nothing like that at all!" Steven looked up at her, his head tilted in curiosity, and Aki felt a flush run up her face. "I meant friends, a job, that sort of thing. Well, okay I don't actually have a job, and my boyfriend just broke up with me, and I'm broke and have probably lost my apartment by now so I guess I'm homeless, but still-" Aki snapped her mouth shut and turned her face away from the gunslinger's view. The heat pouring off her could have cooked a pot of rice. But why was she getting embarrassed over Steven's comment? Was she ashamed of how little she had waiting for her back home?

Aki was spared from any further thoughts when the subway car gave a sudden groan. The flickering shapes that had passed by the window started to slow, and then stilled as the car came to a stop. She turned over and looked at Steven, "what do you think happened?"

Steven got up and moved to the front window, cupping his hands to his face in an effort to see outside. "It appears that we have come to a stop. Just a moment…" He lifted his torch from the ground and relit it, then stepped outside. Only a second later he was back, "the tracks have come to an end at another platform. Shall we rest here a bit longer or start to search for a way out?"

"A way outside, definitely," Aki began to sit up, but another wave of dizziness dropped her back on the bench. Steven frowned and laid a hand on her forehead.

"You are burning up. An infection from the wound perhaps? No, it is far too soon...do you think you can stand, or shall I carry you?"

"I can stand," proving her words turned out to be quite difficult. Slowly Aki came to a sitting position, and with Steven lending an arm she managed to rise to her feet. The room swam around her, and the walls of the subway car twisted into strange patterns. She took a tentative step, and then another. Soon she was off the train and moving down a little path, leaning heavy on Steven's arm.

This end of the tunnel was quite different from where they had begun. There was no cement platform here, only an area flattened by gravel next to the end of the tracks. There were no lights either, at least none still operational, so their vision range was limited to what they could discern by torchlight. As they moved along Aki saw that the sides of the tunnel were rounded and much more natural, like something that had been bored out of the earth but never properly finished.

There were a few buildings here, with metal siding and no windows, more like storage sheds than anything habitable. Their doors were either broken or long since removed, and as they passed by Aki could see the insides were bare. It seemed the only thing for them here was to continue forward. She had a sudden fear that they would find the tunnel was a dead end or otherwise collapsed, and have no choice but to return the way they had come. Such an outcome would not end well.

With her head sloshing about and feeling like it was full of fluff, Aki was having difficulty focusing on anything other than placing one step in front of the other. So she was caught off guard when Steven gripped her arm and came to a sudden halt. If he hadn't latched on to her she was certain that she would have pitched right toward to the ground. She turned to ask what was going on, but he held a finger to his lips.

They stood there in silence a moment, then, "there, did you hear that?" he asked in a whisper.

At first Aki heard nothing, but the next moment the sound rang out, loud and ominous. "Another car is coming along the tracks!"

Steven looked at her, fear filling his eyes, "I suppose it is too much to hope that it is the army of deadly robotic servants. We must hurry, can you run a bit?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll have to." They started out again, Steven practically dragging her now.

They sped through the darkness, and the sound of the subway car drew closer, then came to an abrupt stop. For a moment the only sound was the crunching of their shoes on the gravel, but the next moment a piercing growl echoed through the tunnel. This was joined by several more.

They started to run now, and Aki could barely draw breath into her lungs fast enough. Black spots began to appear in her vision, and she knew she couldn't go on for much longer. Then Steven came to another halt, and just managed to grab her again before she careened forward. That was fortunate, because the tunnel had abruptly ended at the edge of a sharp cliff, dropping straight down past the point the torch could illuminate. Steven heaved her back, and they both fell to the ground away from drop off.

"What...do we...do now?" Aki asked. Then she saw something to the side and pointed, "look!"

There spanning the gap was a bridge made entirely of rope, secured to the side by several poles sunk into the earth. They approached it warily, but upon closer inspection it appeared to be intact. Steven tested it with a foot, then nodded. He turned back to Aki and asked, "shall I go first, make sure it can bear our weight?"

"There's no time for that!" Aki began to scurry across, pulling herself along with her hands as her feet danced around trying to find footholds. Around the halfway point one of her feet slipped through the ropes, and she found her face pressed into the rough material as her arms flailed about trying to right herself. She managed to pull her foot loose before Steven could get to her, and continued on to the other side. The gunslinger joined her a moment later.

She looked back the way they had come, and now could make out the distinct light of at least three ember hounds in the tunnel, moving towards them at a rapid pace. Aki pulled out her katana and began hacking at ropes attached to the poles at their end. Steven saw what she was up to and pulled out his hunting knife, setting to work on the opposite pole.

However, a moment later, Steven called out, his voice quivering, "Aki, I do not think we are going to make it in time!" Aki risked a glance back and saw that one of the hounds had already reached the bridge and was beginning to creep across. The other two arrived a moment later and followed suit. Luckily, the creatures were much slower going across the swinging ropes, and as she and Steven severed additional connections, the bridge wavered and swung about violently.

At last Aki ceased her work and turned to face the approaching hounds. "Keep cutting, I'll try to hold them off!" She held her sword at the ready as Steven sawed through another rope. Only two or three still held.

Then, with a loud crack the last of the ropes pulled away, and the bridge began to buckle inward. The nearest hound leapt into the air, sailing the remaining distance to the cliff edge. The other two let out mournful howls as they tumbled away into the darkness.

Aki thrust her blade, and slammed into the hound just as it came crashing down on the edge. The beast's hind legs slipped over the cliff, and then it too was falling away into the crevasse. Her sword was still lodged in the creature's side, and with the weapon still firmly in her grip Aki was pulled to the edge as well. She pitched over the side and began to tumble down into the inky blackness below, a shriek bursting from her lips. Then a sudden jolt stopped her descent. The blade ripped from the ember hound's side, and the poor creature slipped into the darkness below. Aki looked up, and saw that Steven had gripped her by the top of her pants, his other hand wrapped around one of the poles. With a great groan of effort he managed to haul her back up.

They laid there panting for a moment, the adrenaline of the moment now flushed from their systems, leaving Aki feeling nauseous and dizzy. She sat up and peered across the chasm, but it was too far for their torchlight to reach the other side. Still, she saw no glow from any additional ember hounds, so that was promising. Even if there had been, the distance was too large for any of them to make the jump. At least she hoped that was so.

Steven climbed to his feet and extended her a hand. They continued down the tunnel, following the twists and turns, always listening for the sounds of pursuit. Everything behind them remained quiet, and after perhaps an hour Aki noticed a dim glow in front of them. The light continued to expand, until finally a wide opening appeared, with green trees and stone cliffs beyond. They walked out of a little gully to find themselves among rolling hills, the landscape beyond too obscured by the treeline to see more than a hundred meters or so.

They began down the slope of a hill, but on reaching the bottom Aki felt her legs give out on her. She crumpled to the ground, and discovered that her muscles were listless, unable to respond to her commands. She flailed about a moment until she felt Steven's hand on her shoulder. The gunslinger scooped her up, and carried her up the next hill, and the one after that, and the next after that. They stopped to rest once in awhile, Steven setting her down with a gentle touch, but every part of her ached now, and each movement was pure agony.

"I'm sorry Steven," she started to say, but the gunslinger patted her hand and smiled down at her.

"You've have done far more already than was called for, lady Aki. Let me do what I can now to repay the debt."

However, the next time they stopped for a rest the pain had grown too great. When Steven went to pick her up again she pushed his hand away as best she could. "I can't go on like this, it's just too much to bear," she said in a hoarse whisper.

Steven nodded, "It is probably for the best. You know, I've been thinking about that rope bridge, back there in the cave. Something like that would have been built recently, yes?"

"I suppose? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because we appear to be surrounded," Steven said in a low voice.

Then the trees around them erupted as creatures began to pour into the clearing. From where Aki was lying, they appeared to be men, but they were larger than any human she had seen before, the smallest among them were two meters tall at least. They also had large sharp teeth that poked out from their lower jaw at odd angles, like fangs that had been poorly glued in. Their skin was covered in an assortment of angry red boils and welts, and several of them had sores that were weeping openly. They formed a circle around Aki and Steven, and stood there, brandishing all manner of clubs and sharpened spears.

One of the giants stepped forward, and spoke in a booming voice. "You are trespassing on sacred land. Surrender your weapons, or you will be treated as hostiles."

Steven stood up, and held his hands over his head, "we mean you no harm. Take our weapons, but please leave us in peace. My friend here is gravely ill."

The lead giant glanced down at Aki, and her fingers twitched with desire to grab her katana. It was out of reach by her pack though, and she didn't have the strength to lift it. The giant nodded, and turned towards his companions, "collect their belongings and bind their hands. We shall bring them back with us to Dusklight."


	5. Part 2 Chapter 4: Loyal to the White

Chapter 4: Loyal to the White

They placed Aki in a cart pulled by a pair of shaggy horses, her head resting in Steven's lap to minimize the the jarring impact from every rock and pothole. She tried to ask the gunslinger what was going on, but one of the giant guards growled and told them to be quiet.

Steven smiled down, and whispered, "Do not worry, everything is going to be fine." The giant let out another growl and Steven snapped his mouth shut. He watched until the lumbering guard moved up to the front of the cart, and only then did Aki feel the tension go out of her muscles.

After a few minutes, she felt brave enough to attempt a whispered question. "Do you know what these creatures are?"

"Muties," Steven whispered back. He must have seen the question in her eyes, because he continued, "When the world moved on, the old ones who could not reach places of shelter fell prey to the poisons and horrors that had been left behind. Their descendents became warped, bearing the marks of their parents' suffering. Mid-World has many different kinds of such creatures, most insane and quite dangerous."

Aki glanced at the giants, who had encircled the wagon and now followed in its slow wake. She tried to swallow, her mouth dry and scratchy. "And these ones?"

"When the first gunslingers started to rebuild, the muties fought against them, all but one tribe. That tribe became my people's closest ally, and we swore oaths to always serve and aid one another. We called them the Children of Roderick."

The cart shook, and came to a halt. Aki tried to lift her head to see around them, but the strength had gone out of her. They began moving again, and she watched as they passed through a wooden gateway, the doors swung aside to welcome them. The cart bounced around much less now, and she saw buildings spring up to either side, a mishmash of rusted metal siding and wooden boards nailed in wherever there was a gap.

Then they stopped once again, and the giant from earlier- or was it a different one?- appeared, and with a gentle touch lifted Aki out of the wagon and to her feet. She leaned a hand against the side of the cart to steady herself and looked around. They had arrived in a large square, the ground a mixture of weathered cement and reddish cobblestones. In the center was a raised platform, on which stood the largest giant she had seen yet. Guards flanked him to either side, their bodies covered from neck to feet in overlapping plates of armor. The giant at the center did not have any armor, but rather was dressed in a robe of deep purple. The beauty of the garment seemed at odds with the pockmarked face of the giant wearing it.

There was a crowd of giants to either side of the platform, perhaps a hundred in all. None of them appeared smaller than Steven, and most were dressed in a variety of colorful cloth. A few shapes darted between the legs of the onlookers, and Aki realized they were children, the smallest amount them still reaching to her chest. Several of the giants held swaddled babes, and others had smudges of black on their clothing as if they had just come from work. The normality of the scene made her head swim every time she realized just how out of proportion everything was.

She felt someone squeeze her hand, and looked over to see Steven standing next to her. He gave what looked like a reassuring smile, then strode out into the square, stopping in front of the platform. The whole area grew quiet, the only sound a crying babe somewhere in the back. Aki realized she was holding her breath, and forced herself to breathe normally.

The giant in the purple robe cleared his throat. He looked down at Steven, and said in a booming voice, "My name is Atoska, mayor of the fine town of Dusklight. The watchers inform me they caught you exiting from the long tunnel. Our people often take pilgrimages to that place to commune with our ancestors, but never before have we seen another human there. How did you come there, and what is your business in our lands?"

"I am Steven Talmane, son of Joseph, last of the line of Eld. I am many months from my native land of Gilead, seat of the Federation, now given over to ashes and dust. My companion and I are pursued by those that did seek to destroy the order of this world, and now I call upon you, the Children of Roderick, to honor the oaths you once swore to my ancestor. If you truly are loyal to the white, aid me now in destroying my enemies once and for all."

The square grew quiet again, so much so this time that Aki could hear her heart thudding in her chest. She counted twenty beats before Atoska spoke again. "Eld? Gilead? These names are foreign to me. I fear you have mistaken us, we are no 'children', we are the Al-Paldan, the Keepers of the Remnants, and are bound by no oaths except to watch over this land and guard it from those who would dare to trespass. I ask again, and this time I suggest you think carefully before you answer: how did you come here?"

Steven stood there before the platform, and Aki could see his mouth flapping open but no words came out. She wondered what most of what he had said meant. Somehow, she did not think there would be an opportunity to ask him about it later.

A shudder ran through her chest, and she doubled over in a fit of coughing. Just when it felt like it had passed, another wave struck that was so strong she dropped to her knees. She saw a dribble of blood spatter on the paving stones, and it took her numb brain several seconds to realize that it had come from her. Several shadows fell over her, and she could hear a rumble of speech like the roar of a distant ocean, but could make no sense of it. She tried to shake her head to clear it, but instead felt herself tumbling forwards, rolling over and over and she fell into a black abyss that had no bottom, no sides, nothing for her to grasp and slow her unending descent.

* * *

The next time Aki awoke, her first sensation was of something soft and warm. She forced her eyes open, the crust on them cracking like dry clay, and saw that she was in a bed covered with clean white sheets. She wondered which hospital in Tokyo she was at, and if she had fallen off a train platform and hit her head. Her memory was all fuzzy, and she couldn't remember how she had gotten here.

When her memories came back to her, she sat up with a gasp. She looked all around the room. It didn't look like a hospital room. The walls were paneled with dark wood, lacquered over until they almost shined. There were no overhead lights either, just golden rays of a late afternoon sun playing across the walls. Maybe she was at a small clinic somewhere? Part of her hoped that everything she remembered with the gunslinger and the man in red was just a fever dream, something her brain had made up while she slept. She felt guilty for thinking that, but something that fantastic couldn't have actually happened, right?

A figure in the corner stirred, and Aki turned to look. Steven sat in a chair, his clothes much cleaner and his face washed and shaved. The holsters at his side lay flat and empty against him, like they had deflated without their normal occupants. The sight of the gunslinger without his ancient looking weapons sent a shiver down Aki's spine.

Their eyes met, and he gave her a weak smile. "I'm glad to see you are awake at last. Promise that will be the last time you faint on me, I'm not sure I could survive such a traumatic experience like that again."

"I...passed out again? But why?" She pressed a hand to her head, trying to force her foggy memories back into order. She remembered feeling weak after they left the cave. "Was it something I ate? I should have listened when you warned against eating that Orak."

"It was nothing you ate, of that I'm sure." She turned at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. A woman stood in the doorway, at least Aki thought it was a woman. The giant towered above them, half again as tall as Steven, and had the build of a weightlifter. There wasn't a part of her that didn't ripple with muscles. The woman flashed what was probably meant as a smile, and Aki saw that her teeth were much straighter than those of the men who had brought them here. They were also shorter and either blunted naturally or filed down on purpose. She wore a white jacket that had a few patches at various corners, but looked well cleaned and maintained. Long hair draped down her back, and beyond a particular large red welt on her cheek, she otherwise could have passed for human.

In two large stride the giant woman had crossed the room and stood over Aki, peering down at her with a calculating eye. "You had quite a severe case of Acute Radiation Syndrome. It's lucky you arrived when you did, a few hours later and the damage to your body would have been catastrophic."

Aki gulped at hearing the other woman's words, and her heart thudded away in horror. She had heard stories while growing up of people sickened by radiation. Her grandmother claimed that she had nearly died of a broken heart when the actress Naka Midori passed away. By all accounts it was a painful and unpleasant way to die.

"Please," she said, trying not to let the terror leech into her voice, "how bad is it? How much time do I have left?" It had only taken a few weeks for Midori to die, but Aki had read of other cases who lingered in agony for months.

The giant tilted her head to one side. "What do you mean, time left?" she asked. "You're almost cured of the effects already, if I had to guess."

"What?" Aki gasped. "How is that possible?"

"The medication I gave you should have drawn out most of the radiation, and what that doesn't clear up, the blood transfusion will."

"Blood transfusion?" Only then did Aki notice the tube inserted in her arm. She traced its path until it ended at another needle attached to Steven. The gunslinger had a look of embarrassment on his face.

"Turns out I'm a 'universal donor', whatever that means," he said, "so they've been running blood between us to help heal you."

The giant woman nodded, "After you lost consciousness this gentleman explained the...unique circumstances that brought you here. I take it that low-level radiation isn't as common on your world?" When Aki shook her head, she continued, "I thought not. Still, to have acquired so much radiation in so little time...did you by chance drink from any still bodies of water, or travel through any areas that looked different from their surroundings?"

"I don't think so...wait, yes! There were several spots along the river where nothing seemed to be growing. I thought it was odd that there were no plants there."

"Hmm. Try and avoid such places in the future if you could, please. Thanks to that blood transfusion you should have more of an immunity to radiation, but it is still best not to risk it. Alright, Mister Talmane, I think you can disconnect yourself now. Other than more bed rest, there is little left either of can do here tonight."

The giant ushered Steven from the room, then returned and eased Aki back onto her pillow. "Get a good night's sleep now, and if you need anything, I'm just down the corner. My name is Narma." With that she bustled out of the room, leaving Aki to stare at the ceiling as the last rays of sunlight played along the walls, a final hurrah for a day that Aki had missed almost entirely.

* * *

A few days later, Aki had managed a few tentative steps around her room while Steven offered words of encouragement, when Narma's assistant arrived with the evening meal. Where Narma was as imposing as any of the other giants that Aki could see from the window, her assistant was anything but. No more than five centimeters taller than Steven, the poor girl's hair hung listless down her back, aways in a state of disarray. Her face was so covered in welts and pockmarks that there wasn't a place on it that wasn't an angry red, and there were a large number of sores spreading down her arms as well. A single fang poking out of her upper lip completed the ensemble, and not even one of the white orderly jackets could redeem the poor girl from looking more like a patient than a doctor's assistant.

Still, she seemed friendly enough, if a bit shy, and as she set down the tray of food Aki caught the girl glancing in her direction. She smiled up at the orderly and wobbled over to the table, the smells wafting from the tray making Aki's mouth water.

"Thank you for all of your hard work these last few days." Aki gave a small bow, all she could manage at the moment, and the orderly jumped as if startled. "I don't think I caught your name yet. I'm Yamamoto Aki, and this is Steven."

The other woman nodded in a quick, almost exaggerated way. "My name is Thurga. I know who both of you are, the two of you are the talk of the whole town." She stepped to the side so that Aki could sit down. Steven joined her in the chair opposite but didn't eat.

Thurga turned to go, but then seemed to hesitate a moment. She turned back around and asked, "Is it true that you defeated the spider-mechs?"

"The what?" Aki asked.

"The mechs, the robot men who live under the mountain? We've sent several groups to explore those caves over the years, but they always get chased away by those things. Are they truly gone now?"

"Well, I'm afraid I don't really know. We took out some of them, and the man pursuing us almost certainly destroyed the others, but that doesn't mean they are all gone. There could have been a hundred others around the next corner we never saw."

"Still, you did destroy some of them?" Thurga's eyes widened as Aki nodded. "Then that means we can as well. Oh, that is good news. We have managed to salvage much from there already, but so much of the old world remains lost to us. Think what treasures might lay at the end of the cavern!"

Aki frowned. She didn't want to disappoint the girl, but it wouldn't be right not to tell her that there was nothing left at the other end beyond crumbling stones. Before she had a chance to speak, the door slammed open.

"Thurga, what are you doing in here?" The mayor wore a bright green jacket today, which didn't look any less ridiculous on his gargantuan form. "You have better things to be doing than waving your tongue about! Get back to your work!"

Thurga flinched, and then slunk out of the room with a last glance at Aki. The mayor swung the door closed and turned towards them, a wide grin spreading across his face. Aki couldn't recall ever seeing a less sincere smile than that one.

"Doctor Narma informs me that you're almost healed." Aki nodded her head, but the mayor continued on as if he hadn't even noticed, "I'm pleased you made such a quick recovery, our hospital here is the finest in the land, even humans from the nearby villages sometimes come seeking our aid. Let us not forget those medicines, quite expensive to produce anti-radiation treatments after all. Not much call for them these days. I hope that you've given thought to how you're going to pay for all of this."

Steven's head jerked up, "What about all of the coin your men took from me, wasn't that sufficient payment? To say nothing of returning the rest of our possessions."

The mayor waved a hand in the air, "That coin was tendered as your entrance payment, and to pay for the damage you caused to our property. Not easy to replace that bridge you chopped down, it is going to take us quite a while to get it strung back up. As for the rest of your possessions, well, I might be willing to see to their return when you are ready to depart our fair city, once your debt is paid in full. Yes, I think we can come to some agreement, say perhaps the forgiveness of your medical debt in exchange for your weapons?"

Aki choked in surprise and anger, and Steven went rather pale at the mayor's words. Once she had her voice back, Aki almost spat at the mayor in her fury. "You're just trying to blackmail us. Well I would sooner die than part with my sword." Just a short while ago she had been willing to risk her family heirloom, but after everything she had gone through leaving it behind now felt almost unthinkable.

"Suit yourself," the mayor shrugged, "but the debt will need to be paid, one way or another. If you don't have sufficient to offer in trade, we could always put you to work for a time, no more than a year or two I imagine, then you can be on your way again."

"I'm afraid that is impossible Sai," Steven glanced out the window, towards the distant mountains. "I've told you about the one who pursues us. Eventually he will find his way through the cave, bridge or no, and it would be to the better for everyone if the lady and I were long gone when he does."

"Hmmph, I'll believe in this 'man in red' when I see him, but the fact is that I have men watching the cave entrance at all times, and nothing and no one has emerged from it since the two of you appeared. Short of sprouting wings and flying over the frozen peaks, no one will find you here. Well, you've heard my offer. I'll give you a few days to think about it, but weapons or servitude, the Al-Paldan always collect their debts." With that the mayor swept from the room.

Aki looked at at Steven and asked, "What do we do now?"

"I don't know, neither is a price I wish to pay. We cannot afford to wait, but I have forgotten the face of my father enough times already, and leaving behind my guns would be too much of a betrayal even for me. Perhaps we may yet strike another deal. Let us wait and see what the next few days bring."

Aki nodded in agreement, but worry still twisted at her guts.

* * *

The next morning Narma declared Aki fit enough to move around, and ushered her outside for some fresh air. Steven awaited at the front door to offer a supportive arm, and together they strolled through the village of giants like two tiny children out on their own for the first time. Beyond the disproportionate size to everything, Dusklight was still a strange place. There were old engines and other machines cobbled together and set up like works of art on street corners. A few of the buildings seemed to have some rudimentary form of electricity, and there were even strings of lights hanging above shop entrances and near corners. Large crowds moved along the street, though Aki guessed there to be no more than few hundred inhabitants. The mutants who were out and about seemed to prefer bright clothing, but most appeared to be of simple cuts, little more than sacks hanging about their shoulders.

Still, everyone seemed friendly enough, and once she got used to having to stare so high up at everything it was almost like being back in Tokyo. She and Steven walked about, peering in a few windows and stopping in a large square where cultivated plants were in full bloom, growing in pots made out of everything from tires to what appeared to be an old bathtub.

"Is it like this everywhere in Mid-World?" Aki inquired.

"No, not at all. Most places such as Gilead are built far away from the remains of the old ones, where the ground was less tainted. Most of the pieces left from before are bad luck at best, and dangerous at worst. I've seen some other types like this in my travels though. Quite often the inhabitants seem worse off for what they have, as if holding on to the old world doesn't let them grow and learn the way they need to."

"Well, they don't seem to be suffering here," Aki leaned over to smell a flower. "This place reminds me of my own world in many ways. Most things are a lot newer there, of course, but the lights, the running water? Not so different."

They walked on further, making a circle of the whole town. As they neared the hospital, a large giant of a woman stepped out, blocking their path. "Greetings travelers from afar, and welcome to our humble Dusklight. Might I interest you in a telling? My shine is strong, and can reveal much about what awaits you in the future, about the paths you have yet to walk. Would you care to step inside and learn your destiny?"

Aki shook her head. "Thank you, but we have nothing to offer you, the mayor took everything we have."

"This too I know, but prices can be paid in more than coin. If you change your mind, don't hesitate to return." She grinned at the two of them and stepped back into the shadow of her doorway.

When they have moved a bit further down the street, Aki turned to Steven and asked, "What did she mean, her 'shine'?"

Steven shook his head and replied, "A local term perhaps, its meaning is beyond my ken." There was something about the way he said it though. Aki wasn't sure she believed him.

When they arrived back at the hospital, Steven detached himself from her arm and swept out a wide bow. "Thank you for the company of your pleasure lady Aki. I think I shall retire to my room and dwell on a course of action for the morrow."

Aki nodded and watched him stroll back down the street. When he turned the corner, she started to hobble after him. She couldn't say what it was that drove her on, just some instinct deep inside her. She stayed back just far enough to see where the gunslinger turned through the various streets and alleys, and a few minutes later found herself standing back in front of the fortune-teller's building. The door was now closed, the giant woman herself nowhere in sight.

She found the nearest alley, then worked her way back until she was behind the fortune-teller's shop once again. There were no windows on the back, but there was a section of paneling that had come loose enough that she could move it without making too much noise. Aki shifted it further until a small hole appeared, then took a peek. A few dim lights came into view, but a chair or other piece of furniture prevented her from seeing any further. She could just hear a muffled discussion.

Turning her head, Aki pressed her ear to the hole, straining to make out the words. The noises of the village around her faded away as the conversation inside came into focus.

"Speak truthfully seer, am I destined to die in this forsaken place? Or is there some way for us to escape this town?" The voice was that of Steven, she could tell by the way he clipped his words.

The fortune-teller let out a deep laugh, rumbling the walls of the building. "Your destiny was to die on Jericho hill, little gunslinger, or have you forgotten that? But do not waste my time asking foolish things. The answer to that question shall come from another, and I do not wish to usurp them. What did you really come here for?"

A pause, then Steven let loose a deep sigh. "There is little point in asking a question I already know the answer to. I am the last of the line of Eld, a king without a country. I know the fate that awaits me for my treachery when I depart this mortal coil. I do not need you to confirm what I already see in my heart."

"Oh little gunslinger, that is where you are mistaken. You are not the last your line at all, your cousin Roland yet lives, and his claim to the throne remains the stronger so long as he continues to draw breath."

Silence permeated the room again, then Steven spoke, his voice cracked and strained. "My cousin...is alive? There were survivors of the battle? Does this mean Farson did not win the day after all? But what of his servant who persists in following me? What of the man in red?"

"Too many questions," the fortune-teller clicked her tongue in a disapproving manner. "I have told you as much as your payment is worth. Even if you could afford more, I would not give you these answers. Some things are better to learn through their natural courses. Go now, Steven of Gilead, and remember that this world and the Tower are not done with you yet."

Aki heard the door to the building open and then slam shut. She was just about to pull her ear away when the fortune-teller spoke. "A moment of your time, girl. For you there is no charge, this time. Beware the man you have bound your fate to, for suffering follows him like the night follows day. He may yet seek a path of redemption, or he might descend further into the darkness that enshrouds him. Even if he finds his way back to the light, you may find that he takes more than what you are willing to give. That's the problem with redemption: sometimes the only way out is through."

The woman let out another deep throated laugh, and Aki jerked her head away. She stumbled to her feet and ran down the alley. When she reached the end, she felt certain for some reason the giant woman was following her, but there was nothing to see behind her other than dirt and rusted metal.

* * *

Back at the hospital, Aki collapsed into her bed. The short flight here had drained her small energy reserve, and all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep without thinking about what awaited her tomorrow. She had almost drifted off when a knock at the door caused her to jerk upright again. Thurga stood in the doorway, and took a step back when she saw the look in Aki's eyes. "Miss Yamamoto, is it alright if I enter?"

Aki shook her head to clear it, then realized how that might have been interpreted and began nodding instead. "Of course, please come in. And call me Aki, I get enough formality from Steven as it is."

Thurga took a tentative step into the room, glancing back over her shoulder. Everything was dark and quiet in the hallway beyond. She closed the door and approached Aki's bed. "I heard about what the mayor is demanding from you, and I think I might know something that can help."

Now Aki's smile became genuine. "Really? That's wonderful! What is it?"

The giant hesitated. "Well, you see, I could get in a lot of trouble, telling you this. Most people know it already, having lived here their whole lives, but if the mayor learned that I was the one who told a bunch of outsiders.…" She shuddered, and wrapped her arms about herself. "If I tell you, you have to promise to do something for me in return."

"I...I promise, if it can be done, I will." Aki wasn't sure what the other girl wanted from her, but Thurga had been nothing but kind to her and Steven the last few days, and it would be good to repay her generosity anyway.

"There is a...a rule, one of the oldest in our records. You have the right to challenge the mayor to a contest, and if you win then your debt must be forgiven. But if he wins he can ask whatever he wishes of the two of you. It will be a risk, but at least it is a chance."

"The mayor has already asked us for everything we can give him, and more besides, so that is hardly a large wager to make on our parts. Thank you Thurga, you might just have saved Steven and I." Thurga beamed at her. "What is it you want in return for this information?"

"If you win, promise me that I can come with you two. I don't want anything besides that."

"What?" The request caught Aki by surprise. "You realize what that would mean right? We are being hunted as it is, and anyone who comes with us risks their life at the least."

"I don't care, so long as it takes me away from this horrible place." There was a fire in Thurga's eyes, smoldering so hot Aki thought it might light up the entire room. "I've spent my whole life being treated like trash by everyone, my parents, my teachers, the guards, and the mayor most of all. Only Narma has ever been kind to me, and when she isn't around I'm nothing more than the runt who never grew proper. I want to get away from this place, and if you don't let me come with you I might never have another chance."

Thurga burst into tears, and Aki put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, it's alright, of course you can come with us. I'll have to speak with Steven, but I'm sure he'll agree."

"Thank you," Thurga sniffed.

"Do you know what this contest might be?" If it involved anything to do with height, they might as well concede before they began.

Thurga described the contest to her, and as the giant girl went on, a smile crept back onto Aki's face, until it spread from ear to ear.

* * *

The sky was still rosy pink when Aki felt herself shaken out a deep slumber. She glared up at Steven, who took a nervous step back before clearing his throat. "It's time, they're waiting for us downstairs."

As they made their way through the small hospital, Aki filled in Steven on what Thurga had revealed the previous night. He frowned through most of it, but when she had finished he agreed that it was worth a try. "The only other option is servitude, and hoping that the man in red never finds a way across the mountains." He did not sound too optimistic about that prospect.

Outside were four of the largest mutants that Aki had seen yet, over twice as tall as Steven, and covered in the usual mottled assortment of metal armor. Without a word they moved to either side of her and the gunslinger, and the group made its way through the streets.

Aki would have thought that the town would still be asleep at this hour, but as they approached the village square people began to appear out of buildings and trailed along behind them. When they arrived at last she saw there was a large crowd already there, and between them and the people behind her it looked as if everyone in Dusklight had woken early to see them.

The mayor once again stood on the platform, adorned in his rich purple robes. He grinned at them with a hungry expression as they approached, and Aki felt a wave of revulsion pass through her. Even losing the sword would be better than having to serve this horrible creature.

"Hail and well met," Steven called as they stopped in front of the platform. The mayor nodded, then spread his arms wide.

"I have graced you with an extended stay in our fair realm, an honor not typically bestowed upon outsiders, most of all humans. Some here say I grow too soft, not turning you out of the gates immediately, or throwing you in stocks for defiling our sacred places, but to those naysayers I counseled compassion, so that you might have time to rest and recover from your ordeals. Now, however, the time has come to repay this kindness we have bestowed upon you. So what say you, how do you intend to honor your debt?"

Steven glanced back at Aki, who nodded and stepped forward. The mayor raised a gargantuan tufted eyebrow, but otherwise remained silent. Aki cleared her throat, then spoke loud enough that her voice carried throughout the plaza. "By the laws of your ancestors, and the customs laid down by the sixth council of the Al-Paldan, I deny your decree of indebtedness. You have demanded more from us already than such a debt is owed. I reject your demands, and instead challenge you to prove your claim by ancient rite of contest."

Her words echoed out across the plaza, then were swallowed up by the frenzied whispers that traveled in their wake. The mayor himself remained silent, the blood draining from his face. At last he recomposed himself. "How did you...no, nevermind, it does not matter. Very well, a challenge has been issued, and by our laws I cannot refuse it, though it has never before been put forth by an outsider. This is all quite unorthodox...you are sure you wish to continue? It might be better for you to make a bargain now."

"We are certain. Let the challenge commence."

"Well now, let us not get ahead of ourselves. It will take some time to prepare the arena. I will meet you there in, say, two hours? Let us meet in the sacred field then." The mayor turned towards the crowd, and his voice boomed out, "A challenge has been issued. Let the arena be readied, that the challengers may seek to air their grievances!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, and Aki wondered if perhaps they had turned out this morning hoping for just such a turn of events. People began to disperse, a few leading her and Steven to a house where they could wait while everything was made ready.

Two hours later she and Steven arrived at the park they had passed through just the day before. The flower pots had all been removed, and the ground swept clean so that not even a spot of dirt remained. Aki saw that underneath was smooth concrete, so slick that she wondered if had been coated in lacquer.

The mayor arrived, his voluminous robes replaced with some outfit of leather and animal hide that Aki suspected was at least partially ceremonial. Another giant stepped forward, and explained the rules of the game. Thurga had gone through them with Aki last night, but she still listened just in case she had missed anything the first time.

The game was not particularly complex. Players threw a weighted ball from one side of the arena to the other, where a hoop stood at the top of a tall pole. The goal was to pass the ball through the hole, with lesser points scored for where the ball landed on the field if it came up short. The contest was best of three, with any ties going to the defending party, who in this case happened to be the mayor. If the challenging party managed to score all three goals however, they won outright.

After the giant finished his recitation, the mayor turned to them. "Last chance to back down."

"We'll take our chances, thanks," Aki replied. Steven nodded with her, but his expression was grim.

Aki had the first throw. She stood on the edge of the field, careful not to pass over the starting line. She tossed the ball a few times to get a sense of its weight, leaned back, and swung for all she was worth. The ball sailed through the air and passed through the hoop without even brushing the sides. It struck the wall that lay behind and dropped to the ground. The crowd, who had been been silent until then, erupted into cheers.

She turned back to Steven, who raised an eyebrow at her. "First your sword skills, now this. You are a woman of many talents."

"I didn't just practice kendo when I was younger," she said with a shrug. "My parents were also fanatical about baseball, so I spent a few years playing for the local highschool team."

Steven looked as if he wanted to ask more questions, but went silent as the mayor stepped up to the line. He gripped the ball so hard that Aki could swear she heard it crack, then flung it across the field. It sailed through the hole as smooth as hers had, impacting the far wall in a cloud of dust. Aki felt her stomach drop. Clearly this wasn't going to be as easy as she had hoped.

Next was Steven's turn, and Aki's heart fluttered with anxiety. She knew she could make her second throw, but she didn't know how skilled the gunslinger might be in this regard. She held her breath as he wound up and released the ball. It sailed across the field, and struck the edge of the hoop as it passed through. Everything seemed to slow, and Aki was sure it had caught and was going to bounce out, but as time resumed its normal passage, the ball continued on, landing on the ground and bouncing against the wall.

The mayor took his second turn, and once again the ball flew through the hoop without even coming close to the edge of the ring. Aki's mouth was dry, but she managed to keep her hands from shaking as she accepted the final ball. She could do this, she had done similar to this a hundred times at home. Striking out a batter was no different than this.

She leaned back, grip tight on the ball for fear of dropping it. Then with all her might she hurled the ball forward, straight towards the hoop.

The ball sailed halfway across the arena before it fell to the ground with a solid thump. Aki's heart plummeted with it.

A shadow fell over her, and when she turned around the mayor towered above, his face consumed by a malicious grin. "Well well, it appears that your gamble failed. Now, by the laws of the Al-Paldan, I'll take your weapons for my own, and you two will serve as my personal pets for as long as I deem you fit to do so." His bellowing laugh echoed through the arena as the mayor turned and strode away, his steps filled with the swagger of victory. Aki turned to Steven, and saw him staring at nothing, his eyes glazed over. She went over and wrapped her arms around the gunslinger.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," was all she could think to say.

* * *

High in the mountains above, the tallest peak towered over the already imposing range that ran the length of the southern continent. In ancient times it had an honorable name, spoken of far and wide. Now none but the Al-Paldan knew the peak existed at all, and they treated it with equal parts reverence and fear, calling it the Demon's Tooth. The slopes around it were so steep that no human or giant had ever managed to reach its pinnacle, not that many would want to try. And yet today, for perhaps the first time in several thousand years, the mountain had a visitor.

The man in red stood on the icy ground, and surveyed the valley below. He couldn't see much beyond trees stretching on into the distance, but he could sense the gunslinger's presence somewhere below. He was alone now, the last of his hounds having succumbed to the cold and thin air several days ago, but that no longer concerned him. His quarry was close, and this time he would not allow them to escape, not the lost child of Gilead, or this girl with the strange powers that traveled with him. One way or another, this chase would come to an end, and then man in red would at last have his due.

He allowed himself to smile at the thought, the ice that sealed his face cracking and falling away, to be replaced only moments later as the wind froze his skin anew. The cold however was a minor concern; inside of him burned a fire that no amount of cold could quench, and with confident strides he descended the mountain, his footsteps hissing and bubbling momentarily before the snow filled them once again.


End file.
